Kissing a Fool
by Dinkee-Dino
Summary: With the looming threat of Voldemort, the line between friend and foe's blurred.The new teacher's got everyone enchanted his good looks. And what happens when Lily realizes that she's been kissing a fool?
1. Chapter One, Revised

**Kissing a Fool   
Chapter One (I don't think we'll do titles anymore?)   
By Dinkee-Dino**

**Disclaimer:** All the stuff (excluding characters you don't know and the plot) belongs to the richest woman in the UK until tax time. 

**A/N:** So here is an old/new chapter. I've changed things considerably in the later chapters, but the changes in this one are pretty minor. Enjoy! 

**Lily**

Lily tossed her prettily highlighted auburn hair as she walked past James Potter. Her highlights were natural, which was more than she could say for some people. James' chocolate brown hair wasn't his natural hair colour, but he still insisted that it was. Men! Sometimes she suspected that they were just as vain as girls. Since the first day of the first year, James had dyed his hair and kept it the same colour, telling everyone who'd listen that he had been born with the brown shade. 

She hurried past him combing his hair in one of the hallway mirrors and headed towards Professor Thicket's class. Her Muggle Literature teacher had sportingly allowed her an extension on the Witchcraft in Muggle Literature essay. As of now, she had exactly two minutes to run up to the third floor and slip it under his door before her essay was officially late. 

Professor Thicket was an old grandfatherly gentleman with thin, wiry glasses. Stern but fair, grandfatherly was the perfect word to describe him. He would willingly give his students extensions on assignments, but when they pushed their luck, he came down on them like a sack of bricks. Every student seemed to like him, but he sometimes annoyed them with lectures that reminded them of their parents. 

She could just imagine what he'd say when she barely made the deadline for the essay. "Lillian dear, you're in your seventh year already! Head Girl, no less! You should know better than to procrastinate! For a second year, even a third year, I might understand. They maybe aren't settled in yet, but you're a responsible adult already. Don't you expect any other extensions from me!" But he always gave them. 

Lily sometimes felt guilty about taking advantage of such an nice, old man. Sometimes she'd just put off his assignments simply because she knew that she'd get an extension. Well, if everyone else did it, was it really wrong to do the same? 

Out of breath, she reached Professor Thicket's office with fifteen seconds to spare from the 7:00 deadline. Finding the door ajar, Lily pushed it open and walked in. The walls had been stripped of their usual photographs and instead, a few landscape paintings were hanging up. The mahogany desk had been moved closer to the window and all of the bookshelves were empty. 

"Hello?" she timidly called, stepping into the room. "Professor Thicket?" A young man with black hair and dark blue eyes came out of the adjoining room. Lily watched him approach her with narrowed eyes. He couldn't have been older than nineteen or twenty. He might be the professor's son. Too bad. She thought he was fairly good-looking. Smiling, he reached her. 

"Oh hello. I was in the other room and didn't hear you come. I'm just moving some of my things in." He extended his hand. 

She ignored it. "Where's Professor Thicket?" she asked, still suspicious. 

"Professor Thicket's gone. You just missed him, I think." He was still smiling at her. 

"And you are?" 

"Robert. Robert P. they call me. What about you?" 

"Lillian. But don't call me that or I'll pound you so hard you'll have to reach up to wipe your arse," she retorted. 

"Well, what am I supposed to call you then?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. 

Lily glanced at the clock. 7:04. Her essay was already four minutes late. And dinner just started. Even though dinner was served until ten, everyone knew that if you weren't there early, all of the good deserts would be gone. "Figure it out," she said. 

"Lils?" he ventured. 

"No." 

"Lily?" 

"Very good, Robbie." 

"So are y-" 

"Look," she cut him off. It was getting late and all the raspberry cremes were probably gone by now. "Do you know when he'll be back?" Robert nodded. "Good. Then when he gets here can you give this to him? Remember, I got here with the essay before seven o'clock." She thrust the papers at him and dashed down the stairs to the dining hall. 

**-**

**James**

He saw her toss her head at him as she walked past. Really. Lily only did that to prove a point. So what if her hair colour was natural? James didn't see why some people put so much stress on stuff being natural anyway. The brown hair worked better at attracting girls. Who cared if it was his real colour or not? 

And was Lily still mad at him for stealing her knickers and hanging them up on flagpoles he'd put in the Dining Hall? That was four years ago for Merlin's sake! Talk about holding a grudge! Sure there were a few pranks before and after that, but he'd stopped in the fifth year. It wasn't out of the goodness of his heart though. Believe it or not, most of the girls respected and liked Lily and he was finding it hard to get dates when Lily had declared all out war on him. Her radar had dropped to a cold silence the past two years and James' luck with girls had skyrocketed. It wasn't like girls threw themselves at his feet, but he was a pretty sought-after guy. 

After standing around for around ten more minutes, his best friends arrived. "Sirius! Remus! What took you so bloody long? Where's Peter?" he asked as he playfully punched each of them on the shoulder. 

"Peter's saving us seats for dinner. And we took so long bec-" Remus started. 

Sirius popped up. "You want to know what just happened? We were held up on the second floor landing by a bunch of girls. You know, Priscilla and her flock of popular babes. They were begging us to take them to the Yule Ball. Those girls are something else! Apparently they like what they see." 

James laughed. "Yeah, right. Okay tell me the truth." 

"No really. I swear that's what happened. Ask Remus or Peter!" 

"Fine. Remus? Is Sirius telling the truth?" 

"Uhm. Well. You know maybe not in that exact way. We did run into Priscilla and her crowd, but she mainly asked if you were going with anyone to the Yule Ball yet. And if not, she told us to mention to you that she wasn't going with anyone yet either." Remus was always the quieter one. The shyer one. 

"Are you gonna ask her?" Sirius asked. "I know how it is with you and blondes. Me? I prefer brunettes." 

"I dunno. There's plenty of time to get dates," James shrugged. 

Remus spoke up. "Actually, James. Erhm the dance is only a month away." 

"Like I said, plenty of time to get dates, but if it really bothers you guys, we'll go girl scoping first thing next week. 'K?" 

Once they reached the Dining Hall, all of the tables had been pretty much filled. Peter flagged them down from his spot in the centre of the table and they walked across the hall to take their seats. 

"Took you long enough!" Peter exclaimed in his slightly squeaky voice. 

"Yeah, well blame it all on Sirius," replied James, heaping his plate full of mashed potatoes. 

Sirius turned to face Peter, trying to convince his friend that all the girls were desperately seeking his attention. James just let him ramble and scanned the Dining Hall. He still hadn't decided if he'd take Priscilla up on her offer yet. Deciding that he needed to make a decision once and for all, he devised a slightly canny method. If Priscilla entered through the hallway door, he'd ask her to the dance. If she came through the door near the stairs, then he'd ask someone else. 

Keeping one eye on the doors and the other on his food (in case Sirius decided to steal his fried chicken) James noticed Lily Evans rush into the hall, staring intently at something near the Gryffindor table. Following her gaze, he found that she was staring at the dessert basket down at the other end. Upon closer inspection, he spotted one lone raspberry creme hiding under a pile of baguettes. The last pastry! 

He stood up and made a beeline towards the basket, trying to look casual as to not alert the others of the presence of the sacred raspberry creme. Lily spotted him out of the corner of her eye and James saw her quicken her step. Just when it seemed like he was going to make it there first, Lily sprinted the last half meter and grabbed the creme, clutching it proudly in her left hand. Without thinking, James snatched the raspberry creme from her. 

"Give that back!" she shrieked, pawing at his robes. James held the creme above his head. He was tall enough that he could keep it out of her reach without any difficulty on his part. Looking back down, he saw that she was getting pink in the face. 

"James Potter! That is my raspberry creme and you know it! I had it first! Give it here!" 

He calmly looked down at her. "What are you going to do about it? How about asking nicely?" 

"Alright! May I have my creme back? PLEASE?" Lily replied with forced sunniness in her voice. 

James slowly lowered his arm and held the pastry in front of his face, inspecting the powdered sugar sprinkled on the top of the raspberries. He could see that Lily was dying to snatch the creme out of his hands. Holding the pastry out to her, he waited until the moment that Lily's hand extended to grab the creme, then swiftly tore a huge chunk out of it with his teeth. 

Lily let out a strangled cry of frustration. James finished chewing and carefully swallowed. Wiping his hand with the sleeve of his robes he pointed to the raspberry creme. "Did you want some of this?" 

"YOU!" was all she said before storming off to the other end of Gryffindor table to join her friends. 

James watched her retreating back and silently laughed to himself. God how he loved making her mad! Priscilla came through the door near the stairs. 

**A/N:** Ah. We all know where this is heading, but we love it anyway. 


	2. Chapter Two, Revised

**Kissing a Fool   
Chapter Two (Revised)   
By Dinkee-Dino**

**Disclaimer:** All the stuff (excluding characters you don't know and the plot) belongs to the richest woman in the UK until tax time. 

**Lily**

That Potter was going to lead her to an early death. Imagine! Snatching that raspberry creme out her hands like he did! Manners of a hippo, that one. Facing the Slytherin table, Lily waved at Grayer. He caught her eyes and grinned back, rolling his grey eyes toward his prattling friends to show that he was bored with them. 

She smiled and turned towards her food. He had asked her to lunch three times already when they were out at Hogsmeade and she still didn't know if they were officially going out yet. Sometimes he'd act like he was already her boyfriend, but other times, he just seemed like a friend. She wouldn't mind getting closer; it wasn't uncommon for Gryffindors to date Slytherins. Both houses were equally prestigious and first year students usually prayed to get into, first, Slytherin and if not, then Gryffindor. School lore said that the Slytherin House had the strongest, bravest, fastest, and smartest students, something the some of the Slytherin members liked to remind the others of from time to time. Gryffindor was good too, but considered just a notch below. Students frequently used the comparison of a first class seat on a plane as being in Gryffindor and a first class window seat was the equivalent of being a Slytherin. 

Despite Gryffindors, slightly lower status, it still had the best Quidditch team, hands down. This was mainly due to James' help as a Seeker and the Captain. Lily wasn't one who was quick to compliment James, but his skill on the Quidditch pitch was unmistakable. To say that he was anything less than amazing would be an understatement. Through the six years that she had seen James play, she'd seen him zip in and out, and save the team from what seemed like an inevitable loss just in the nick of time. 

Grayer was a Beater on the Slytherin team, and an extremely good one at that. It was the general consensus that both were equally skilled and equally good-looking. James with his brown hair, striking hazel eyes and the "bad-boy/prankster" attitude. Grayer, sporting pale blonde hair and grey eyes, had the "strong, silent hero" stereotype going for him. But if you asked Lily, she'd say that Grayer was most indefinitely the better of the two. She'd like to think that maybe Grayer would like to be more than friends, but she wasn't sure. After all, didn't he hang around the pretty, popular goddesses of the school everyday? 

Not that she wasn't unpopular either. The school seemed split on her looks though. The people who had heard her called beautiful were disappointed when they finally saw her. Those who had heard her called plain, saw her and wondered what in the world the others had seen. 

Dumbledore's quiet, commanding voice broke her reverie. "Students, may I please have your attention." The room simmered down. "I have a very important announcement to make. Many of you may have noticed that Professor Thicket was absent from teaching today. The fact is, he had just found out that he has developed osteoporosis." This created a stir of murmurs from the crowd. 

"Not to worry," Dumbledore continued. "He will be fine, and even though the condition wouldn't have stopped his teaching, he has decided to retire anyway. In his place, you will have Professor Robert Powell. Come on professor, don't be shy. Everyone, please give our new professor a round of applause." 

Robert Powell. Robert P. . . . Who was that? Lily jerked her head in remembrance. The man she met in Professor Thicket's office! Well, boy really. He was supposed to be teaching Muggle Lit? And she'd said 'arse' in front of her new teacher! And she'd used it in a threat, no less. Craning her neck trying to get a good look along with the rest of the school, what she saw surprised her. The man standing on the stage wasn't the same person she saw earlier that day! This man was in his late forties with greying hair. By now, the usual hum of the Dining Hall had returned. 

Relieved, Lily sat back and went back to eating her muffin, the sad remains of her once glamorous dessert. If the boy in the room wasn't her new professor, she couldn't get into trouble for saying 'arse'. He was probably one of the visitors. But... But that would mean he might not have gotten her paper! The boy she gave it to didn't look to honest. Something about his smirk. . . 

She had to find him before he left the school! Jumping up, she knocked over her goblet of pumpkin juice, but she didn't care. Her grade depended on that term paper! Getting a failing grade on it would mean loads of extra work to make up the grade, that was if the new professor even gave extra credit work. She couldn't afford to do extra work. Her marks in History of Magic were barely enough to let her pass that semester. Extra work meant less studying which meant a failing grade. They'd take away her Head Girl status! The embarrassment! 

With this last thought, she dashed out of Dining Hall, not knowing that in her hurry she banged the door so loudly, causing everyone to wonder where exactly Lily Evans was going at 8:30, headed towards the main entrance. 

**-**

**Grayer**

Lily Evans had a crush on him. Not that she knew that he knew. Actually, he mightn't have noticed at all if he hadn't watched how she acted around other guys. She constantly excused herself from the presence of others just to strike up a conversation with him. Of course, it usually lasted for only a minute or two before other jealous girls would shove her aside and claim him all to themselves. And Lily didn't do a thing about it. She was obviously too nice for her own good. He didn't like that in a girl. 

The first thing you'd notice about her was her hair, then her eyes. He didn't think she was that pretty at all; she seemed pretty plain. Nothing special about her. The usual studious, over-achieving girl. But she actually had a social life. Lately, he'd been leading her on. Asking her out to lunch and whatnot at Hogsmeade. Making her believe that he was remotely interested in her. 

This obviously wasn't true, but what else could he do? She came in handy when he was accosted by various girls. Priscilla? Too blonde. Doris? Too giggly. Nicole? Now there was a girl. No, a woman. Every guy he knew of wanted to nail Nicole Jordan, though Lily had a pretty decent following herself. He didn't see it. The auburn hair? The green eyes? Too Christmasy for him. 

Weeks and weeks ago, when the first mention of the Yule Ball had come up, numbers of girls had followed him around, constantly asking him who he was taking to the dance. Tired of waiting, some even sought to corner him in empty classrooms. Like that oaf of a girl, Brenna. One day, a couple weeks into October, most of the girls had ganged up on him and pestered him about the Yule Ball. Before he quite knew what was going on, they had formed a circle around him and adamantly refused to let him get to lunch before he answered. 

"Why don't you ask me to the Ball?" 

"As if he'd ask you. He's so into me! Aren't you Grayer dear?" 

"Stop wasting your time, girls. Grayer is obviously going ask moi. Run along and find someone else." 

On and on it went. Barrages from every corner. Finally to shut them up he had said, "I've already picked a girl. But you'll have to guess who it is." 

"Oooh! Me!" 

"It's me for sure!" 

"Erhm ladies, actually, it's someone who's not here right now," he half-yelled over the ruckus they were making in the hall. Some teachers had come out of their offices and shut their doors loudly to show their annoyance at being disturbed. 

He had looked at each of the girls and seen the look badly-hidden disappointment in every face. "Good", he had said to himself. They would probably leave now. Their curiosity far outweighed their displeasure, however, and they pressed him further. 

"Is it Katrina?" 

Too skinny. "Nope." 

"Is it Ginger?" 

Too smiley. "Definitely not." 

Girl after girl was named and each time he'd say no. He knew the list of potential girls was running short, but he didn't have an exact idea of how short. 

"I know. It's Lily Evans." 

Who was she? He remembered hearing her name somewhere. Maybe he'd even see her once or twice. Right now, though, her face slipped his mind. Better not take his chances with a weird girl. "Sorry, but no." 

"Oh but it has to be! There aren't any other girls left. Unless you're taking a teacher," Doris spoke up. 

Alack! Alack! He was really cornered this time. He didn't respond, but listened to other girls whisper. 

"She's so pretty! No wonder he picked her. I wish I had eyes like hers. Maybe a special charm I could find. . ." He hadn't bothered to listen to the rest. If people thought that this Lily Evans was pretty, he had absolutely no risk with being stuck with an ugly date. 

"Alright. You caught me. I'm going to ask Lily to the Yule Ball. Now, can you all leave? I must away to my lunch." 

Satisfied with having an answer at last, the girls moved on. At lunch, he had asked Severus to point out Lily Evans to him. She was passable, but not quite up to Grayer Standards. He mentally graded her on his Grayer Girl Test, and she barely scraped by with a passing grade. 

Still, he couldn't go back on word now. If he did, he would come off as some sort of snarky liar. He'd started introducing himself to her that very day. And so here he was, three weeks before the ball and he still didn't ask her to be his date yet. In the beginning, he was afraid that she might turn him down as she had a fair amount of male suitors "wooing" her in the first place. But as he started to spend more time studying her, he realized that she already had a crush on him. This would make it easier to snag her, and this was mostly the reason that he'd been procrastinating. He hadn't wanted to ask her too soon; he might seem too eager and that would ruin his chance at other relationships with other girls during the rest of the year. 

It all came down to this. He would have to ask her sometime this week. Everyone knew that it wasn't gentlemanly to ask a girl out on too short of a notice, and he certainly wanted everybody to think that he was the perfect gentleman. It made it so much easier for them to give him presents in "the land down under" if the girls thought they could trust him. 

The Dining Hall was filled by the time he got down. He immediately searched for Lily, meaning to ask her to be his date that very night, but she hadn't arrived yet. When she did arrive, however, she seemed very intent on something at the Gryffindor table and right before his eyes, he saw James Potter- his main rival for the position for best-looking in the school- take something out of her hand. Even from across the hall, he could tell that Lily was fuming. James' back was toward him so he couldn't see what his counterpart was doing, but a few moments later, Lily said something and spun off on her heel. 

Couldn't she tell that James Potter was sweet on her? Not that either of them had noticed it. They'd been fighting like cats and dogs since third year. Really, if they'd only stop bickering for a minute, they'd realize that they, in fact, liked each other. A lot. 

No kidding. Lily was sweet and nice. It was going harder to dump her after the ball, but he didn't feel too bad about it. She'd get over it. And if she didn't, well, it wasn't his problem. 


	3. Chapter Three, Revised

**Kissing a Fool   
Chapter Three (Revised)   
By Dinkee-Dino**

**Disclaimer:** All the stuff (excluding characters you don't know and the plot) belongs to the richest woman in the UK until tax time. 

**A/N:** Woohoo! We're switching to 3rd-period POV! 

After spending what seemed like hours searching for her mystery person, Lily gave up and headed back to the Gryffindor common room. She'd had a long day. Cramming for Divination, writing that essay for Muggle Lit., and losing the much coveted raspberry creme to Potter had pretty much tired her out. Potter. What was it about him that made her so frustrated? Oh wait she thought the list is too long. She had once tried to sit down and compile a list of annoyances but gave up after she hit the 100th mark. Sure, Potter and his gang of mates, the Maroggers or whatnot, played pranks on everyone, but she seemed to be the target of most of their (or at least James') pranks. Petty annoyances like exploding quills and Chocolate Frogs with a squash flavour, those she could bear. Even the worms in her bed, she could deal with. It took all her self-control (and a bit of persuasion on her best mate Sibyl's part) to keep from hexing Potter into the fourteenth century for that one. But one evening in the fifth year, she discovered that a set of her bras and knickers was missing. That was fine as she had tons of pairs, but much to her mortification, the next day at breakfast, her underclothes had been frozen in chunks of ice and magically strung onto a flagpole near the entrance for everyone to see. Floating directly underneath the makeshift flag was a banner that had "Evan's Undergarments: a work of art brought to you by James Potter." She had noted that the banner only read James Potter which meant the others in his group, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew, hadn't had any part of it. This was little compensation, however, for the fact that the whole school had laughed and ridiculed her for nearly a month. 

Reaching the portrait hole, she banged in, already angered by this time from the sheer memory of it. Sybil Trelawney, a wispy girl with dreamy eyes jumped at the slamming of the portrait door. "Oh, Lily! I do wish you would stop doing that so often. I was just in the middle of a reading. Now I'll have to start all over!" she exclaimed, bending down from a table in the corner to retrieve her upset tarot cards. 

"Sorry," Lily apologised. "I've had a long day." 

"Ah. I should've known. Mercury is in retrograde again. It says in your horoscope that you're in for a surprise either this week or the next. It's also a good time for you to start on a really important project and confront something that's irritating you." 

"Honestly, Sybbie, you don't believe that Divination mishmash do you?" 

"It is not mishmash!" her friend replied indignantly. "It's an art. You just aren't very good at it, that's all. Oh Lils! I didn't mean it that way! Come on! I'll bring out my Ouija board and we can ask it some questions." Seeing the look of disgust on Lily's face, she switched gears. "Or maybe not." 

A few seconds of silence elapsed before Sybil spoke up again. "Lils? Do you believe in reincarnation? Like dying and coming back as something else?" 

"Uh. Sure." 

"Well, do you think that maybe you and I may have known each other in a previous life? I mean, us being such best friends and all. Maybe we were sisters in a past life or something." 

Lily looked thoughtful. "I totally agree. We did know each other in our last life. But weren't sisters." 

"No? What then?" 

"You were my pet frog." 

"Lils!" Sybil shrieked. "You're not taking me seriously!" Lily was too busy laughing to notice the scandalized look on her friend's face. 

"I'm sorry! It was too-" But whatever Lily was about say was cut off as a panting James Potter came running in. Lily immediately sobered up. 

"Have you seen any of my mates here yet?" he asked. 

"No," Lily replied coldly. "Why?" 

Sybil looked remotely interested. "Yes, why?" 

"Just so you know, Sybil," James said, shooting a dirty look at Lily. "We surrounded Snape and Malfoy and tried to give them monster wedgies. Unfortunately, we only managed to get Snape and Malfoy got free. Now the both of them are hunting us down. Remus, Peter, Sirius and I decided to split up and meet back here. I'm not surprised they haven't gotten here yet. I'm obviously more fit than them, being on the Quidditch team and all." He added this last part with a self-satisfied air. 

Upon hearing this, Lily snorted. "What?" James immediately rounded on her. 

"In case it slipped your pea-brain, Potter. Sirius is also on the Quidditch team, so it's illogical for you to claim that you are more physically fit than your counterpart. Just plain stupid." 

"Oh yeah? What would you know about it? Your nose is always in a book, prissy Evans!" 

"Well, this priss is currently passing all her subjects, unlike some captain of the Quidditch team, I might add." 

"My marks are fine. Except in Charms. And Potions. And Care of Magical Creatures. And Muggle Lit. And Divination. . . But whatever. At least I have a life. It's no wonder you don't have any friends. Other than Sybil here. And can't for the life of me see how she puts up with you. Maybe she's just sorry for you because there's obviously something wrong with you." 

Lily's eyes narrowed. "So tell me then, Casanova Potter, what exactly do you find wrong with me?" 

"Let's see. Accio Evans Files." A huge brown box came flying into the room. James grabbed it, set it down on the table and opened the top. The inside was packed to the gills with tons of manila folders. "Hmmm. . . You wanted to know what was wrong with you?" 

"You have files on me!" 

"Of course. Now how do you want it? Alphabetically? By year? By hideously annoying aspects moving down to just really annoying? Or by body part?" James looked up from the box expectantly. 

"Surprise me," Lily replied sarcastically. 

"Alright. By body part," said James pulling out a file marked in red. "Let's see. Your hair." 

"What about my hair?" 

"It's red. It's ugly," he said in a superior tone. 

"It isn't red, you dolt. It's auburn. And it's natural. But of course I couldn't really expect you to know your basic colours now could I, seeing as how you're still learning to recognize simple shapes," she retorted. 

James just shook his head at her in a patronizing way. He licked his thumb and flipped to somewhere in the middle of the file. "Moving on. Let's skip to something else shall we?" He ran a finger down the page and paused at a line. "Here. You're too short." 

Sybil, still standing aside, immediately knew that James was in deep trouble. If there was one thing you never brought up around Lily, it was her height. Not wanting to see the possibility of James getting pounded into a bloody pulp, she sidled out of the common and dashed up the stairs to the girl's dorms once she was out of sight. The two were still going at it. 

"What did you say?" Lily asked in a dangerous tone. James seemed to miss it completely and barrelled ahead. 

"You're waay too short. I mean. Look at me, already exceeding six feet, handsome, charming, attractive. And you right there, barely topping sixty inches." This was true. Lily had to tilt her head up just to look at James' face, but her height was a very sore point for her. 

"So what if I'm short? It's not like it'll make me smarter if I'm taller! Look at you! If I had to choose between being tall and having a fully developed brain, I'd take the brain!" 

"Just because I don't do well in school doesn't mean I can't! And you are small! I don't know what any of the guys see in you! How do expect to ever be in a relationship if you're attitude is so nasty? And what about snogging? You're too small to snog standing up. You and the unlucky guy who is landed with you will probably have to snog sitting down. I mean, even on your tip-toes you can barely reach the top shelf in the Potions storeroom. Oh and you're whole face is out of proportion! You nose is too small. You're mouth is too big. And your eyes are green. Green! Green eyes and red hair? Digusting!" 

By now, both faces were screwed up in anger and neither noticed that Remus and Sirius had walked into the common room. 

"Auburn!" Lily shrieked. "My hair is auburn. NOT RED!" 

"Auburn, my arse! It's bleeding red! And green eyes. Put together, you look like a lopsided Christmas tree. And your short height doesn't help the overall package much!" 

"Erhm well. I think small girls are cute," said Remus nervously in an effort to stop the fighting pair. James blinked up at his friends, realising for the first time that they were right next to him. Lily flashed Remus a thankful look behind James' back. Distracted, James had turned to Remus. 

"You can't be serious!" he said incredulously. 

"Er. Actually. I do think small girls are sort of cute. They're ve-" 

"Remus! Moony, mate! This is Evans! The most insufferable, prudish, prissy, priggish, annoying, nasty-tempered. . ." 

Sirius stepped up. "Prongs. You need to take a break. Let's go up to your room. Remus. Didn't you say you had some paper you need James' help on?" 

Remus looked confused for a second, then he realised what his friend was trying to do. "Oh yeah. I'm having some difficulty with Astronomy and. . ." 

Sirius was dragging a kicking and screaming James up the stairs, with Remus following closely behind. Once they were out of sight, Lily's forgotten tiredness came rushing back to her. Never one to put off homework, however, she pulled a heavy tome titled Asagi Numerae and proceeded to read up on Ancient Norse Runes. After a while, sleep got the better of her and she fell into a deep slumber on top of a pile of books. 

That was how James Potter would find her the next morning when he decided to pour ice down her back. 

**-**

Lily started to feel tired after the first flight of stairs up to the Muggle Lit. classroom on the fourth floor. She was running late, no thanks to Potter. Already having overslept that morning, that pompous idiot poured ink-filled ice cubes down her back so that when they melted, they stained her clothes and back. (He'd filled the cubes the manual way. He obviously lacked the knowledge of Charms to do it magically.) As a result, she had to dash upstairs to shower and change into a fresh set of robes. While combing her hair in the mirror she realised that it turned a nasty yellow colour. It took her half an hour to find the reversing spell. By that time, breakfast was over and her first class had already started. 

As she huffed and puffed up the last landing, she made a mental note to do something nasty to Potter. Thankfully, the Muggle Lit. classroom door was still open. Some teachers at Hogwarts, like Professor McGonagall, didn't hold with tardiness and locked the doors once class started. The late student would be forced to wait outside until the lesson was over. Potions master, Professor Bagsadarian also followed this method, but went so far as to forbid students to share the lesson with the tardy student. People made it a point to get to Potions on time. 

Dashing into the room, she began to spew out her apology. "Sorry I was late, Professor, I overslept and I had to change because of some accident and the-" She stopped when she saw who sat behind the desk. It was her "mystery man" as she had so dubbed him. Her mouth just stood agape for a moment before he spoke. 

"Ah. Ms. Evans, I see. Seeing as you are a good student with a clean record, I will let you off today with no more than a warning. Assure me it won't happen again. " 

"It won't happen again, sir." 

"Good. Take a seat. Oh, and drop the 'sir'. Just call me Robert." 

Lily nodded and dropped into an empty chair near the back of the room. Most students looked at her, shrugged and restarted their interrupted conversations with one another. 

"Everyone, please be quiet," said Robert. Of course no one paid any attention to him. He was barely two years older than them! So Robert opened up the closet behind his desk. He took out a wooden meter stick. It was flimsy and cheap; he always bought them at the same Muggle store. The chatter continued and Robert lifted the meter stick in both hands, bringing it down on his desk forcefully. There was a loud crack as half the meter stick broke off and flew behind him, hitting the chalkboard. The talking stopped immediately and all the students stood attentive and quiet, the perfect epitome of angelic children. 

Robert inwardly smiled. It never failed to work, this meterstick show of his. A friend had once told him that one day, the meterstick piece would fly the wrong way, hitting one of the students, and he'd have a legal case on his hands. So far, though, nothing of the sort had happened and Robert continued to use the method. Once you become unpredictable, you hold the cards. The students didn't know what you might do next. 

The class was still quiet. "That's better, thank you," he said. "You may all address me as Robert. But remember, just because you call me by my first name doesn't give you the right to disrespect me. For the time being, I will be your Literature professor as my father has been called away to urgent business. I will accept no dilly-dallying on your part. When I say 'jump', you say?" 

"How high," replied a bitter voice. There was a rustle of robes as all the students turned to look at the only student who knew the answer. 

"Mr. Potter has the correct answer," said Robert in a slow drawl. "Now, if you will all listen closely, I will begin to give out your next assignment. Write this down." Everyone bent down to their bags and scrambled to get out parchment and ink. Lily, already prepared as always, took the chance to survey her new professor and James through lowered eyes. It seemed like the two of them knew each other from somewhere else. James had blatantly refused to follow the professor's order and sat in his chair with his arms across his chest. She watched discreetly as the two engaged in a stare-down. The tension could be felt clear across the room, but it seemed that she was the only student to notice. 

She looked back at James. His teeth were clenched, little beads of perspiration were appearing on his forehead, and it looked as if it was taking all of his strength just to keep his arms crossed. The silent struggle between them was mounting. Just when it seemed like James would burst from the pressure, he made a barely inaudible grunt of fear? pain? relief? (she couldn't tell) and he bent down with the others to retrieve parchment and quills from his bag. 

**-**

By the time dinner rolled around, Lily already had not one but two raspberry cremes on her plate. She made a point to come down as early as possible. Luckily, Professor Vector had given a pop quiz on Astronomy. Anyone who finished could turn their test in and leave whenever they wished. Speeding through the exam, Lily was the first to finish, promptly rushing down to secure the pastries. She noted with satisfaction the look of disappointment on James' face when he came down to find no more pastries. She figured he owed her big time for yesterday's pastry and the ice anyway. 

James looked over to where Lily was sitting, primly eating her salad. He noticed that she never touched meat. He also noticed that she had two raspberry cremes on her plate. Not fair. "Hey, Padfoot, d'ya think you can talk Evans into giving up one of her raspberry cremes?" James asked leaning over to his friend who was busy stuffing himself with game pie. You'd think he'd never seen food before from the way he ate. 

Sirius turned to face James with his mouth full. He took a huge swallow and wiped his mouth the back of his sleeve. "Eh? What was that?" 

"I just asked you if you could ask Evans for one of her raspberry cremes? She has two." 

"What's up with you and those things anyway? You and Lily seem to be the only ones that actually like them. The hazelnut mousse is much better." 

"Look. Are you going to do it or not?" asked James with some annoyance. 

"Fine. Fine. I'm gone. Don't need to be so pushy!" Sirius walked off muttering something under his breath. James couldn't hear the exact words, but it sounded a lot like something he couldn't do to himself. He saw his friend approach Lily and exchange a few words with her. Lily glanced James' way and said something back to Sirius. A minute later, Sirius came back and James hounded him for information. "Well?" 

"She said no," Sirius shrugged and went back to eating. 

"That's it? That's all she said?" 

"Yeah. It's just a raspberry creme, Prongs. Get one tomorrow. If you keep on acting this way, you'll get heartburn again." 

"Just a raspberry creme? It's not just a raspberry creme! It's a. . .a raspberry creme." 

"What's the difference? If you really want one, we'll just sneak into the kitchens tonight and get one from the house elves." 

"But I need it! Now!" A few people two seats away were beginning to stare at James' almost tantrum. James looked around and smiled pleasantly. "But you're right. I'll just get one tomorrow." At this, the people resumed eating and paid no more heed to James. It was all he could do to contain his anger at that- that minx! He was James Potter! He always got what he wanted. But it wouldn't do any good to throw a tantrum in front of everyone. Taking a few calming breaths, he felt someone looking at him. Whirling around, he saw Lily throwing him a glance. Once she had made sure that he spotted her, she lifted a raspberry creme to her mouth and took a bit of it, all the while flashing him a superior smile. It was almost more than James could contain. 

Determined not to snap, he vented his anger on the cloth napkins. He stared hard at his plate, but Lily's infuriating smile kept popping into his head. He felt a sudden burn in his chest. Sighing, he took out an antacid out of his pocket and swallowed it dry. It seemed to be occurring more and more lately. This week alone, he'd gone through half a bottle of pills already. His acid reflux was always acting up when he was particularly stressed or angry. That Evans girl was going to kill him one day. 

**-**

"Here you go," Lily said handing Sybil a piece of paper as she slipped in next to her that breakfast. 

"Good morning, what's this?" Sybil questioned eyeing the blue piece of paper. 

"It's our Muggle course choices. We have to pick two Muggle-related subjects to study, remember? It's supposed to fill in for Care of Magical Creatures since Professor Gauche got trampled by the sphinx in Egypt. Our course picks are due today. I just haven't got around to turning it in." 

Sybil slapped her forehead. "Oh no! That was today? It totally slipped by mind! What're you down for?" 

"Well, dance is a given. I mean, I was practically raised on it. My aunt's a dance instructor and she's been teaching me to waltz and fox-trot and swing dance since I was in diapers. Should be easy stuff. I'm not sure on my other one yet." Lily tapped her quill against her lip thoughtfully. "There's art, history, French, Latin, Muggle Sports, and an extension of Muggle Lit. I'm already teaching myself Latin so that's out. Sports? No way! I mean, I already know that Potter's a sure bet on that and I don't want to be in any more of the same classes with him. What do you think Sybil?" 

"Erhm. I might go for art. I'm not so great at dancing, though I'll join you anyway. What was that you said about Muggle Sports? No you're right. James is a sure hit on that. What about the extension of Muggle Lit? That might be good for you." 

"Sybbie, I'm already taking the course! The point is to expand your knowledge of different fields. That's why we come to this fine institution of learning and education. . ." 

Sybil rolled her eyes. "Okay. Okay. I get it. I just thought that maybe since James is always going on about how much he hates Muggle Lit, he's obviously not going to sign up for it. I mean, it's an extension so you're not learning the same boring stuff either. Besides, I heard it's being taught by that dishy new guy. Professor Powell's son. Robert, right? Those dreamy blue eyes!" Sybil here gave a wistful sigh. 

"Sybil Trewlawney! Mooning over a boy? I'd have never thought it possible! Though your advice on Muggle Lit is very helpful, I guess I could forgive you for your unnatural behaviour," Lily said jokingly. 

"Oh nonsense. Don't be silly. He's not for me anyway. It's not in the stars. I'm supposed to remain single. The sky never lies, you know," Sybil declared with a confident air. 

Lily wasn't listening and was back at scrutinising her course choices. What Sybil had said was true. James hardly liked Muggle Lit (she suspected that their new teacher might have something to do with it) and would never sign up for it. But she really wanted to study art, James wasn't the artistic type was he? No, didn't seem like it. Still, you never knew. Lily checked the box next to Muggle Literature Ext. just in case. 

**-**

He'd woken up with a headache and wasn't in a very pleasant mood. The pounding in his head had gone away, but once a person like James got off to a bad start, he was bound to have a bad day. The fact that he had yet to fill out his course choices for Muggle Studies wasn't helping. Stupid Professor Gauche on his bollocky trip to Egypt. 

A loud thump on the back from Sirius just as James was lifting his orange juice caused a spill onto his uniform. "Sodding idiot, Sirius!" 

"Geez! Lighten up. Someone's in a foul mood today. I noticed that you've been doing this a lot lately. I'm willing to forgive you out of the goodness of my kind heart though, if you set me up with Priscilla. Hell, I'd settle for Eileen, even though blondes aren't my type." 

James snorted. "I have to go. Gotta change my robes before school starts. No thanks to you." 

Remus heard him and offered to charm his robes clean. He needed to brush up on Cleaning Charms anyway he claimed. James let him, but after Remus was done, there was still the faint scent of orange lingering around him. Turning back to his paper, he saw Sirius peering at it. 

"Haven't done it yet, Prongs? I finished mine ages ago." 

"Oh yeah?" James asked with uninterest. "It's not like it matters. Everything's probably boring anyway. What'd you put down? I'll just mark the same ones. 

Sirius started to answer, but the mail delivery came with a rustle of owl feathers and James only caught "and Muggle Sports." At the mention of sports, James brightened quite heartily. "What was the other thing you signed up for, Padfoot?" 

"Er. I just told you." 

"I didn't hear you. Nothing sissy like art right?" 

"Well, promise not to laugh?" Sirius asked nervously. 

"'Course not. Tell me." 

"Ahem. Dance." Sirius fidgeted anxiously to see what his friend would say. 

"Oh. Hum. I guess I'm not going to be having the same classes as you. I can't take Dance, help me pick something else. Definitely not history. Not art. What about Latin? Nah. Evans is probably going to take it seeing how it's supposed to be challenging. Any suggestions?" 

"What about Muggle Lit extensions? That might be fun?" 

"Fun? It's about much fun as having pickles shoved up your arse with that cod Powell teaching it. Did you know that he's -" James caught himself just in time. He could tell his fellow Marauders just about anything, but there were some things he felt he couldn't tell anybody. Things concerning Powell. No use letting on that he'd known Robert before. That might cause some uncomfortable questions. . . 

Peter turned his watery eyes to James. "Know that he's what?" 

"Er. That he's almost as intolerable as Evans. Muggle Lit? No way." 

"But think about it James, if you don't want to get stuck in the same class as Lily why not take Muggle Lit.? I mean, she's always been up for a challenge and I heard her mention something about learning Latin the other day. She wouldn't take Muggle Lit if she's already got it as a regular. She's bound to take art or something." 

James blinked at his friend. Remus was right. But spending another 90 minutes a day with Robert Powell might drive him over the edge. Still, there was absolutely no chance that Lily would opt for a course she was already taking. What about French though? He'd been to France once and there were loads of tasty looking girls there. Learning French would certainly help in picking up girls. Yet if Lily was going to learn Latin, what would stop that over-achiever in taking another language. James checked the box next to Muggle Literature Ext. just in case. 

**-**

"What a stupid game!" Sirius muttered. "No flying? How do Muggles survive?" They were learning the fundamentals of football. James personally was looking forward to trying it out, but at the rate his schoolmates were complaining at, it didn't seem very likely that any of them would even get to touch the football, let alone play. 

"The object is to score into the opposing team's goal. Intentional injuries to opposers will get you a yellow. If the offence is serious enough, you get shown the red card and you're out for the game," Professor Reginald went on. 

"How're you supposed to score a goal?" asked James. 

"You kick it in," was the teacher's reply as he went across the field to retrieve the footballs. 

Immediately, the chatter started. "Did you hear that?" 

"Kick it in! That mean's we're playing on foot?" 

"What's the fun in that?" 

Frankly, James was getting annoyed his schoolmates. They were so narrow-minded. "Shut your bollocky mouths. Why don't you just try it before denouncing it?" 

The complaints stopped. Whatever James said was law. Sirius sidled up to him. "Whoa there, maestro, where'd you learn that?" 

Confused, James looked at his friend. "Learn what? You know I've always been short-tempered." 

"No. No. No. That word. Denunsing. Derunting. Whatever." 

"Denouncing? Hmmm. You know, I'm not quite sure. Probably heard if from some nerd like Evans or something," James laughed. "I'd better watch out, I might turn into some bollocky brainiac before I know what's going on." 

Sirius was looking at him with an unreadable expression on his face. "What?" asked James. 

Sirius shook his head vigorously. "Nothing." 

James knew that his friend was no great actor so there was clearly something up. "What? Tell me!" 

"Like I said, nothing! Just forget about it, okay?" his friend replied and started to walk away. James grabbed Sirius' arm, but fortunately, the return of Professor Reginald saved him from answering. The start of practice was announced and what with running up and down the field for the rest of the hour, James forgot about the whole incident. 

**-**

Sybil noticed that Lily was the only one stretching in the middle of the dance hall. Other student's were starting to snicker at her leg warmers and her warm-up leotard. Lily, on the other hand, was deeply absorbed in her stretches and paid no notice to the others. Still, people were starting to crack jokes and Sybil could hear some stifled giggles. 

"Erhm. Lils, maybe you could stop stretching. I mean, you're look er. . stretched to me," Sybil ventured. 

Lily stopped in the middle of sliding down into a vertical split. "I don't think so. I still need to stretch my back after this. You know what happens when you don't stretch properly. Pulled muscles. You're not trying to injure me are you?" She slid the rest of the way down to the floor. 

"What? Of course not! It's just. . . Our class isn't probably going to be taught as erhm. . .professionally as you might be used to. And the stretching might overdo it. Just a little. Maybe." 

At this point, Nicole Bistro (Bitch-stro)approached their corner. She grinned nastily at the pair. "My mates and I over there were watching you and we couldn't figure out what you were doing. We're you trying to imitate a dying fish or something? Because that's what it looked like." 

"Oh don't get me wrong," she continued, innocently twirling with a strand of hair in her perfect bob. "Fish are extremely graceful creatures. But I think you should stick to pretzels, of course you're probably nowhere near that flexible." She leaned in to whisper into Lily's ear. "And while you're at it, I'm going to warn you only once. Stay away from Grayer. I heard some stupid rumours that he was going to ask you to the Yule Ball. Now I don't see what he would see in a girl like you, but just let you know, he's mine. Leave him alone, or I will make your life a living hell." She straightened and smiled. "Toodles!" 

Sybil turned to Lily once Nicole left. "What'd she say to you? You're positively pale!" 

"Nothing." Looking to divert her friend's attention, she exclaimed, "Oh look! There's Remus! Remus! Over here." 

Spotting Lily from across the room, Remus grinned. Only Lily would have the gall (and disregard for other people's opinions) to come out in public dressed as she was. He walked over and paid his compliments to her ensemble. "Nice outfit, Lils." 

"What. You don't like it?" she pretended to me shocked. 

Remus laughed. "No, no, no. I love it. Just the electric blue leotard with yellow legwarmers might be a bit much for some lowly people. They're already blinded by your orange hair band." 

"Oh. Hum. That's easily fixed. What type of dance are we learning first? Neither of you would happen to know would you?" Lily asked. 

Remus shook his head, puzzled by the question. "Well, I heard something about flamingo dancing or something." 

"You mean flamenco dancing? I've got the perfect dress!" In an instant, Lily had charmed on a bright orange and red flower-patterned dress. The waist was tapered to show off her perfect figure and the skirt part billowed out to allow freedom of movement. Many people started to stare again, but for a different reason, Remus noticed. In truth, Lily Evans was a really beautiful girl. No, young woman, he corrected himself. True, she didn't fit the description of a raven-haired beauty, like Nicole. Nor was she blonde haired and blue eyed like the girls that James seemed to enjoy so much. She was a whole different package, albeit a bit small, but he'd meant it when he said small girls were cute. Not that he'd ever harboured those kind of feelings for Lily. Not when James, even if he was too blind (stupid, perhaps?), fancied her so much. 

"So what do you think?" Lily asked. 

"It's very nice," replied Sybil. She was never one to praise people. Anyone who knew her knew that 'very nice' was the highest compliment they could hope to receive from her. 

"Remus? Remus? Are you with us? Or are you off playing space cadets with your flying hippos?" Lily waved her right hand in front of his face. 

Her voice brought him out of his thoughts. "Hm? Oh. It's positively stunning, my dear. If you'd care to look around, you might notice a large part of the male sex is staring at you. And trust me, it's not because there's anything wrong with what you're wearing now." 

Lily laughed again. "Now for the finishing touch," she said as she conjured a big tiger-lily out of thing air and tucked it behind her left ear. 

Amos Diggory, just walking in to deliver a message to Remus, stopped when he saw what Lily was wearing. Anything that low cut was a definite blessing. For someone standing over her, it would be extremely easy to look down her front. 

"From this moment on, you are officially 'hot' in my book," he exclaimed whilst reaching out to touch the bright orange flower sitting in her hair. 

Lily playfully slapped his hand away. "Uh-uh. You don't touch the flower, Amos." 

"But I'm allowed to touch everything else?" 

"You know what I mean!" Lily tried to sound angry, but the smile gave her away. The sound of the door slamming shut made everyone jump. Standing in the doorway was a severe-looking tall woman with a pinched expression on her face. 

"What is this?" she demanded. "Why haven't you picked out partners yet? Some of you might not take my class seriously, but you will soon learn to. I intend to work you until you're so tired you can't take a leak properly. You will work as hard as you can, and more than that, everyday. Mr. Diggory, I don't recall you being on my roster so I would appreciate it if you exited my classroom." 

At this point, Grayer burst in, looking dishevelled, but still quite good-looking in Lily's opinion. 

"Slacking off is not tolerated in this class. The same can be said of," she looked in Grayer's direction. "tardiness." There was a silence in the room. "Well? Are all of you deaf and dumb? Did you not hear what I said? Find your partners and then line up side by side so I can see you all." 

"What are we to call you?" someone asked timidly from the sea of faces. 

"My name is not important. From now on, you will address me as Madame or Mistress. Is that clear? Partners! Now!" 

Everyone immediately became animate, looking for partners left and right. Nicole and Priscilla standing had a ring of guys formed around them. Each begging to be chosen. Lily rolled her eyes and shared a look with Remus. Grayer, no doubt, would be selected by Nicole and gods knows who Priscilla the Brainless might pick. Through some unspoken agreement, Remus and Lily decided to be partners. Sybil was shyly approached by a Hufflepuff boy, who was overjoyed at being accepted. Too bad for him, Sybil had absolutely no interest in boys. 

Feeling sorry for him, Lily and Remus were about to take their places in the line when Grayer shoved Remus aside and stopped in front of Lily. "Would you like to be partners?" he asked abruptly. Lily, partially taken aback, didn't know whether to accept or decline. Remus would be offended if she blew him off. On the other hand, this was Grayer they were talking about. 

Remus, knowing of Lily's infatuation with him, shooed her forward. "Erhm. Alright, Grayer," Lily said. 

"Great. Call me Gray," he said as he took her by the hand. 

"Now," Mistress said. "We'll be splitting people up into two groups. Those who can dance or have previous experience, and those who don't. When I call your name, you will come into the centre of the room. You will perform for me the Beregac Flamenco. Start with the music and stop when I tell you to. Yes? The boy raising his hand in the back?" 

Sybil turned to see the Hufflepuff boy she was standing with open his mouth to speak. "What if we don't know the Beregac Flamenco? Or even the flamenco at all?" 

"Well then, Mr. What did you say your name was?" 

"Finch. Taylor Finch, Madame" 

"Well, then, Mr. Finch. We already know what group you'll be in now don't we? Imogene Abbot!" 

The class watched as a pudgy-looking Ravenclaw stepped into the centre. Music started to play but she didn't move. "What's the matter?" barked Madame. "Are you paralyzed, girl? Don't just stand there. Dance." 

"aditnuhew," Imogene mumbled. 

"What? Speak up!" 

"I don't know how!" she sobbed. 

The music abruptly stopped. Lily thought that Madame was going to apologize, but she just looked annoyed. "Who else doesn't have the foggiest clue what the flamenco is?" More than three quarters of the class's hands went up, including Grayer's. Madame sighed heavily. "Everyone with their hand up, move to the left corner of the room. The rest of you, move down to form a single line." Everyone shifted and Lily was relieved to see that Remus, at least, was still on the line. 

"We won't do this half-baked," Madame continued. "Whoever doesn't know the Beregac Flamenco, join the others." There was more shifting and the girl standing next to Lily left. When everyone had there positions, only four remained and Lily was last. She wasn't happy to see Nicole still there. She had fully hoped that Nicole's stories of being a great dancer were lies, but it turned out that they might be true after all. Ah well, you couldn't win them all. 

Remus went first. The music started and he launched into the routine. Sashaying, he was just clicking his heels when Madame stopped him. She marked something on her clipboard as Remus joined the rest of the class. The music went playing on, though faintly. "Very good Mr. Lupin. Exemplary. I've seen enough to know that you're a very skilled dancer. See? Everyone! You have to dance with the passion that Mr. Lupin does." 

Pause. 

"Well? I don't hear you," she said. 

"Yes, Mistress," the rest of the class chorused in unison. 

"Next. We'll take you, Mr. Weasly." 

A red-haired Gryffindor took his turn. Lily'd seen him before. He was a year younger, but had skipped the third year. As a result, he was going to graduate with the rest of the seventh year. He got a lot of flak for being so smart, but Lily thought he was a nice kid. "Stop!" Madame called out after two minutes. "You know your steps, Mr. Weasly, but they aren't second nature to you. You are too busy concentrating on remembering the steps so the feeling doesn't come out. Passable. Join the others. Nicole Bistro! Hurry up, girl. We haven't got all day!" 

"Yes, Madame," Nicole replied, her voice dripping honey. "I'm terribly sorry. I just love dancing and I was looking at your beautiful dress! I have to tell you, that I'm excited to start learning from someone as skilled as you." 

"That's nice, but brownnosing won't get you anywhere. Cut the flattery and just dance. I see that you've marked that you're very skilled in dancing on your sheet. Let's take a look then." 

The music started again and Madame let Nicole dance on for a full four minutes before stopping her with another one of her, "Stop!"s. "Ms. Bistro, you are no doubt skilled, but there is no passion in your movement. Your steps are sloppy, lazy, half-hearted." She turned to the class. "Is no one here willing to work as hard as Mr. Lupin? I'm disgusted. Thank God there's only one more to go. Lily Evans." 

Lily started to feel nervous the moment Madame had stopped Nicole. What if she didn't do well? What if she forgot some of the steps? She slowly walked over to the centre of the room. Madame gave her the once over. "You also marked that you've had experience in dancing. Is that not right?" 

"Yes, Mistress. Just some," Lily said a bit timidly. 

"That's quite an outfit you've got on Ms. Evans." There were a few titters from the back. Madame immediately rounded on them. "I was serious. How many of you are wearing the correct dress for flamenco dancing? Hmm? We will be working on the flamenco until the end of the month. Tomorrow, I expect all of you to be in the proper attire." There were a few scattered attempts at charms to change their clothes. "Evans. Get ready," Madame told her. 

Remus watched as Lily began to start a little stiffly. But as she warmed up, she loosened up. Everytime she spun around, her skirt billowed around her, fanning out like a huge umbrella. The heels of her shiny, black shoes made a clicking sound against the floor as she launched into the faster part of the Beregac Flamenco. 

"Stop!" barked Madame, but Lily, who now had everyone gazing steadfastly at her, snapped at the exact moment and didn't hear her. Sybil held her breath, expecting at any moment for Madame to get angry. The music played on and Madame let Lily dance on. On the final bar, Lily snapped one more time and threw her head back, holding the position until the music faded. Her chest was still heaving from the dance when Madame turned to class. "Now, I'll pair you up and for the remainder of the class, you will working to learn the basic steps of the flamenco with your partner. Lupin, Bistro, Weasly, Evans, you'll be working separately from the rest." 

They followed her obediently to a secluded area. "This works out perfectly since there are exactly four of you. I will now pair you up." Nicole moved toward Remus, not wanting to be stuck with "Smarthur Weasly". 

Madame frowned. "I don't think so Ms. Bistro. Mr. Lupin will be partnered with Ms. Evans. You're good, but not as good as Ms. Evans here." 

Nicole shot Lily a look that was pure venom. Arthur opened his mouth to object, but one raised eyebrow from Madame made him shut his mouth and turn away with a shrug. "Good. You're working on the two-bit flamenco. The first part, the girls will be dancing separately, then the gentlemen will join in the second part. Remember, every type of dance was originally an outlet for expressing emotions. I want to see passion! Excitement! Make me believe that you are a young couple flirting! You're creatures in heat! Girls! You are luring the boys to come over! You're lonely tonight and they are your only company. Tempting, teasing, you're doing whatever you can to get them in your bed tonight!" 

There were a few gasps and a few hoots from the rest of the class. Lily and Remus looked away, trying hard not to laugh. Madame noticed. "Is this class a joke to you two? Well then, Ms. Evans, Mr. Lupin. Why don't you give the class a demonstration? Hmm? Yes now!" She barked in response to Remus's questioning look. 

Lily reluctantly took centre stage; Remus, walking by, gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "You'll be fine," he whispered. But the music started and she didn't have time to respond. Counting out eight beats, she waited until the third bar before starting to sway her hips to the tune. She criss-crossed to where Remus was standing perfectly still and placed her hands on his shoulders, edging closer and closer. Remus gently pushed her and she whirled around and around, spinning farther away from him. A few of the boys in the class had laid down on the floor on their stomachs, no doubt hoping to catch a glimpse up Lily's skirt. 

She suddenly stopped spinning and danced her way up behind Remus. Sneaking up, she turned him around to face her and clutched her skirts, temptingly eased them up a little at a time, dancing all the while. Remus just faced the opposite direction. Lily, looking dejected, danced away, but Remus caught her hand and spun her back around so that she was now in his arms. This was where the second half started. The music quickly changed from flirtatious and cheerful, to dark and sensuous. 

They both faced forward with Remus behind Lily, placing his left hand on her flat stomach, his right clasping her free hand. He spun her around, faster and faster. Then, in one fluid motion, wrapped his arm around her waist and titled her backward. She arched her head to the right and Remus bent forward. His face was a hair's breadth away from her neck; she could feel his warm breath tickling her. He brought her out of the dip only to grab her waist and lift her up into the air. She kept her legs in a split and he spun around once, then dropped her to the floor only to pull her promptly back up, and lean her back. 

The music ended and Remus and Lily broke away. "Exemplary! Simply exemplary. If I didn't know better, I'd think you two were ready to have a go at it!" The two friends laughed nervously, hoping no one heard and got the wrong idea. Fortunately, the class had erupted in cheers and no one paid attention to anything Madame just said. 

"Quiet down! Quiet down, class! Now, how many of you would like to try that?" Madame questioned. A murmur of excitement ran through the crowd. "Good. If you word exceedingly hard, that will take you at least three months to master." A loud groan replaced the excitement and pretty soon, the students had gone back to discussing Lily and Remus's performance. 

Madame sighed. "Alright. You may leave, I need to prepare for the next class anyway. Mr. Lupin? Ms. Evans? Could I see you over here for a moment?" 

When the two had reached her she started excitedly. "I'm not supposed to tell any of the students this, but every few weeks, our class is going to put on a recital, a show of sorts. The first recital is a week away, and I was planning on cancelling it due to erhm. . . lack of skills our class has shown. I hate to rush you, but if you could put on a show like that, we'd be saved! I could have Ms. Bistro and Mr. Weasly do a simpler routine. Would that be okay with the two of you?" 

Both nodded. "You know," Madame had continued, "it's extremely rare to see such passion in dancers as young as you. There is no doubt that you two are extremely gifted. Though maybe you had more of an incentive on that one." She winked and left the room. 

Lily was still looking confused by what Madame just said. "Did you get that? I mean, the whole bit about the incentive?" 

Remus nodded. "She thinks you and I are. . .Well, she thinks we're erhm. . ." 

The realisation dawned on Lily and blushed redder than a beet. "But you don't think that. . . do you?" 

He laughed. "Of course not! We're just great friends. How absurd!" 

They walked out of the room when Lily bumped into Sirius. "Whoooaaaaa! Lily!" he said looking at her dress. "Wait, you're flower's crooked. Let me fix it for you." He leaned over and adjusted the lily behind her ear. Surprised by his sudden gallantry, but not wanting to offend, Lily just settled for a, "Why thank you Sirius. How nice of you." But Sirius just answered with a vague, "The view's very nice from here," before going to Dance. Lily looked out the window, but all she could see was bare trees and piles of orange, red, and yellow flowers. Not exactly something she'd call 'nice', but she supposed some people found it pleasant. Sirius wasn't even looking out the window when he said that. Remus, to her left was laughing silently to himself. Lily rolled her eyes and smiled. "Come on, you! Let's go down to lunch." She dragged a chuckling Remus down the stairs. The rest of the day passed quickly, but Sirius's cryptic comment still nagged the back of her mind. It bothered her all through Muggle Lit. ,bothered her all through dinner, bothered her as she was doing her homework up in her room. (Head Girl and Head Boy always had their own private rooms.) It wasn't until she was falling asleep that she realized (with some embarrassment mixed with anger) that Sirius had said what he said while looking down her chest. 


	4. Chapter Four, Revised

**Kissing a Fool   
Chapter Four (Revised)   
By Dinkee-Dino**

**Disclaimer:** All the stuff (excluding characters you don't know and the plot) belongs to the richest woman in the UK until tax time. 

"Look James, you can't just skip classes whenever you want. You'll get a detention for sure this time. And we can't have that now can we?" said Remus, the voice of reason. 

James sighed. His friend was right. They had Quidditch practice three days a week and as captain, it was his duty to make sure that he showed up at every one. He'd always managed to avoid detentions during practice days (mainly thanks to Professor McGonagall), but that didn't change the fact that it was only mid-October and he had already racked up detentions into the month of November. At the rate he was going, he'd be staying after classes well after he graduated. 

"I'm going, I'm going!" James exclaimed under Remus' reproachful stare as he started down the corridor to Muggle Literature. By the time he had reached the classroom, almost all seats were taken. The class was sure to be a drag. At least that prig Evans wasn't in it. That angry sensation flared up in his chest again. See? Just thinking of that prat made him disturbed. He reached into the pocket of his robes to pop an antacid into his mouth when Powell's sharp voice rang through the air from behind him. 

"Potter, my class is not here for food. That's what the Dining Hall is for. I'd suggest you put away whatever snack you've got and focus on the lesson today." 

James shrugged and pocketed the tablets. "Lily, dear, you can take your seat now," Powell continued. 

Surprised, James whipped around in his seat to see Lily come through the door with the professor. He narrowed his eyes. What was hse doing with him? Was Powell plotting something? No, but not without James knowing, surely. James was just as much a part of the master plan as Powell. Wasn't he? 

Lily watched James through appraising eyes. This was going all wrong! He wasn't supposed to be in this class. James had made it perfectly clear to the whole school since the first week of classes that he loathed Muggle Literature. And though he never said anything even remotely derogatory about their new professor, Lily sensed that somehow, James loathed him as well. 

She shook her head in disgust. This is what happened when she listened to Sybil's advice. Big load of dung it got her. She slumped into the only available seat, a desk directly in front of James. 

Powell clapped his hands twice and the whole class fell silent. "Now, glancing at my roster, I can see that many of you already take Muggle Literature. For those of you who have never attended any of my classes, and for those who have, I can assure you that this class will be very different from what you're used to. I have gotten permission from the headmaster to try out a new type of learning technique with you." He ran his fingers through his black hair and paused, listening with a self-satisfied air to all the girls' swooning. 

"Now, all of you will be working in pairs of twos as even though these assignments are not dangerous, they aren't one hundred percent safe either. This class will be turned into a sort of treasure hunt. Now hear me out. It might seem childish, but I think you'll find it particularly ahh. . . intriguing. Since there are only about nineteen people who signed up for this class, we all split up into nine pairs with one group containing three people. Each pair will be magically transported into a Muggle book. The two will have to try and blend in as well as they can. You can, of course, only achieve this by reading as many Muggle books as you can. The pairs must guess which book they've been transported into and once they guess correctly, they are moved into another book. The pair to complete the most books will be awarded five hundred points for their house. That most assuredly will win the House Cup. Any questions?" 

"Erhm why will blending in be important?" asked a Hufflepuff boy. 

"Ah yes. I forgot to mention this to you. When you are transported into the book, you will, in essence, become one of the characters. Sometimes you might be the main character, sometimes you will be a servant, sometimes the antagonist. But don't worry, if you're a girl, your character will always be a girl. And the same for boys." There were some sighs of relief and a few weak laughs from the class. "But whatever you do is recorded and if you do something drastically different from what happened in the book, the entire story could be changed." 

"Right then," said Powell, seeing no more questioning looks. "I'll just let you off early today. There's a list on the back wall. Don't forget to put down your preference for partners on it. I'll start announcing partnerships tomorrow and we'll start on our project the same day. Bye!" 

Everyone clattered around packing their things, leaving with smiles on their faces. 

"Lily, Potter, can I see you for a while?" 

James noticed that Powell, called Lily by her Christian name. Since when were they on first-name terms with each other? He approached Robert Powell's desk to see that Lily and Robert where already whispering about something. They turned to stare at him as he neared them. James didn't get it and kept on standing there. Robert coughed politely and comprehension dawned. 

"Oh! Erhm. I'll just leave you two for a bit. I'll be right outside the door once you're done. Right then," James said backing out of the room. 

Robert and Lily had already turned back to their conversation and paid him no heed. James walked out and headed towards the window just outside the door. The weather outside wasn't too pleasant. Dark clouds loomed above the sky, threatening to rain. But James didn't notice them, so caught up he was in thinking about Robert and Lily's strange connection. 

He set his elbows down on the sill and gazed blankly out the window, without really seeing anything. Two years ago, he'd met Robert Powell at a party his father was giving. The two had been a couple of the very few people under thirty-five at the function. It wasn't until later that James had found out about Robert's situation. 

"Potter?" Lily called from the doorway. "Robert says to send you in now." 

James looked up and shook his head, as if he was confused by something. He had unknowingly run both his hands through his hair and his school tie had come loose, giving him a very pleasing appearance; much like he'd just come out of a wild snogging session. James found Lily watching him with her green eyes. 

"Go on, Potter. He's not going to bite!" 

He trudged into the room to find Robert sitting behind his desk with his hands in a steeple right under his chin. 

"You wanted to see me, sir?" 

Robert laughed. Somehow, it made James uncomfortable to hear it. "Come now, James. You know me! Let's cut the teacher-student crap. I'm hurt that you don't call me Robert, in the very least. To business anyway, you probably know why I'm here." 

"Sorry, no si- erhm, Robert" 

Robert looked faintly surprised. "Hmmm? You mean you haven't heard? That's funny. I shall need to have a talk with Severus and Lucius. They, in the least, should've heard by now. You're on speaking terms with them, are you not?" Upon seeing James's reluctance to answer the question, he rolled his eyes. "Very well. I'll tell you myself. Honestly, why all of you continue on insisiting on this idiotic feuding is beyond me. You're all practically brothers, for Merlin's sake. This matter is very delicate. It concerns -" 

Lily, who had her ear pressed against the door, suddenly wasn't able to hear anything at all, due to the Sealing Spell Robert had constructed. Disappointed, she stepped away from the door and leaned against the wall. Two of the suits of armor down the hall were dueling and she turned her attention to them. 

They were causing a ruckus out in the hallway, but no one seemed no notice as they were all down at dinner. The knight with the blue plume coming out of his helmet seemed to be winning in her opinion. Always one to root for the underdog, Lily was just about to give some magical help to the one with the red plume when the door opened and Robert stood there with James. She quickly shoved her wand back into her bag, trying not to look too guilty. 

"- remember what I said James," she heard Robert say. 

"Yes sir," James mumbled. 

"Cut the 'sir's James!" 

Lily looked confused. "Excuse me, ehrm, Robert. Do you two know each other from somewhere?" 

James said, "No!" at the exact same time that Robert exclaimed, "Why of course!" James threw Robert a dirty look. He just waved it away and continued. "Jamesie and I go a long way back. If you'd like, you can come in tomorrow after class and I can fill you in on it," he said a bit suggestively. 

"Erhm. No thank you. I'll be busy. Now I'll just be going down to dinner if-" Lily was saying. 

"Oh. I have one small favor to ask of you, Lily darling. Could you be a dear and accompany James to deliver this note? I don't trust him to not read it." He chuckled and walked back into the room. 

James glanced at Lily to find that he was subject to that assessing gaze of hers again. Feeling a bit cranky, he snapped, "What are you looking at?" as they started off together. 

Lily looked taken aback. "Nothing! You didn't have to be so damn touchy, you know!" 

James had nothing to say to this and they walked on in silence for a while. "So what's up with you and Powell anyway?" He suddenly asked. Lily didn't seem too surprised by the question. 

"There's absolutely nothing up with me and Robert," she replied a bit annoyed. 

"Oh really? The way you two were carrying on, I'd think you two were secretly planning to elope or something." James did an imitation of Lily. "Oh Robert! How lovely!" he said in a high pitched voice. 

"I do NOT talk like that, Potter. Besides, a lot of people like him. He's nice, to say the least for some people." She stressed the last part, but James paid no heed. 

"A lot of people like him? Like who?" James asked. 

"Well, I'm not sure about the guys, but I know most of the girls like him pretty well." 

"Most of the girls? What about you?" 

If Lily found this question too personal, she didn't show it. "Well, yeah. I mean, I don't exactly fancy him or anything. He wouldn't be one of my pin-ups, but he's certainly attractive." 

James jerked and stopped walking. "You find him attractive? Of all the people! He's utterly despicable! Look at him! He's, he's . . he's!" By this time, James realized he was sputtering and he quickly shut his mouth. 

Lily was getting annoyed. "Potter, I don't know what your problem is with Robert, but you better get over it. And soon. A lot of people in this school seem to have nothing against charming, polite, and gentlemanly guys. Robert is a perfectly fine person!" 

They were nearing the Dining Hall. 

"A fine person?" James asked incredulously. "A fine person? My God, he's a twit!" They'd just entered the Great Hall. No one paid much attention to them; it was normal for Lily Evans and James Potter to be fighting every night. 

"Well, I think you're a twit. Everybody seems to have no problem with Robert!" 

"No problem?" James yelled back at her. Realizing they were getting loud, he lowered his voice. "None of they guys like him!" 

"Oh really?" asked Lily, arching one eyebrow. "Remus! Remus!" 

Remus came over. "Yes?" 

"Remus, do you hate Professor Powell?" 

Remus furrowed his brow. "Powell? Of course not. He's quite a nice bloke if ask me." 

Lily gave James a smile of triumph. "Oh shut up, Prancy-pants," he muttered to Remus. 

Both of Lily's eyebrows shot up. "Prancy-pants? I don't think that was very nice, considering the fact that Remus is one of your best friends! And he happens to be a very good dancer." 

"Hear, hear!" said a Slytherin girl, who promptly went back to eating at James's glare. 

"Oh come on! Remus knew I was just kidding. Didn't you Moony?" James said in exasperation. 

"I don't think so. It hurt, Jamesie-boy. I'm not sure if that was very nice of you," Remus said with a completely straight face. He knew full well that James had only been kidding, but seeing Prongs get slaughtered by Lily was too good to pass up. 

"Fine, fine, I'm sorry Remus. Will you ever forgive me? Blah blah blah blah." Lily looked remotely satisfied and went to sit with Sybil. James slumped down next to Sirius. 

"What was that all about?" he asked James with his mouth full of shepherd's pie. 

"Nothing. Some spat about Powell." 

"Powell? Oh yeah, that Muggle Lit. guy. Yeah, I like him okay," Sirius replied. 

To top it all off, Lily had gotten a raspberry creme again. James pushed Sirius's head into a bowl of mashed potatoes just to vent his anger. 


	5. Chapter Five, Revised

**Kissing a Fool   
Chapter Five (Revised)   
By Dinkee-Dino**

**Disclaimer:** All the stuff (excluding characters you don't know and the plot) belongs to the richest woman in the UK until tax time. 

Lily speared a piece of lettuce on the end of her fork. Something about Robert and James was making her uneasy. They seemed to be conspiring something. The pair weren't engaging in anything illicit, like stolen dragons' blood or such. Were they? She shook her head and went back to her salad with newfound vigor, pausing only when Professor Dumbledore stood up to make an announcement. 

"Quiet down. Settle down. As you know, it's nearing the second half of October and the Yule Ball will be coming up. After discussing the matter with the members of my faculty, we have decided to cancel the Yule Ball!" the professor said with a huge grin. 

Everybody was astounded. Amos Diggory's fork clattered against his plate and (Lily noted) Sirius had even stopped inhaling his food. As quickly as the silence fell, the protests started. 

"Aw come on!" someone said in consternation. 

"It's a tradition! You can't cancel the Yule Ball!" 

"Yeah! What're we gonna do for the holidays!" 

Dumbledore looked at them with a twinkle in his eye. "So many years, and so little trust. Still, I would've at least asked for a bit of faith in me," he said in mock sadness. "Before you all decide to go on a hunger strike, hear me out. We will indeed be canceling the Yule Ball. But, in it's place, we've decided to have a masquerade ball! Isn't that exciting. There are a few rules for this new dance. It will be set in the theme of the mid-1800's. If you decide to come in attendance, you must be dressed appropriately. This means, no dress robes. The girls will wear ball gowns and the men will be wearing, well, what men wore back then. Also, you will not bring dates to this dance. Since one of the requirements is for you be masked throughout the whole dance, there will be no point in this. You should try not to reveal to the whole school who you are until the very end." 

Everybody got up to leave, excited by this new prospect for a Masquerade Ball. "Oh, and one last note," called out Dumbledore. The school turned to face the headmaster. "Will certain ah. . . persons of the student body please refrain from slipping Ogden's Firewhiskey into the punchbowls this year? If my old memory still serves me properly, I can recall quite a fiasco at last year's Yule Ball," he said with a smile. James and Sirius exchanged high-fives as they walked out of the Dining Hall. 

Lily shook her head and walked up the hallways to the Gryffindor common room. Cancelling the Yule Ball? It _did_ solve a few of her problems. For starters, she was kind of grateful for that no-dates rule. Severus Snape had been trying to catch her eye all week. And she was sure of exactly what he was trying to ask her. 

She wasn't quite ready for the amount of noise that hit her as she opened the portrait door to the common room. Everywhere there were couples animately engaging in conversations. Some boys were breaking off dates, some girls were breaking off dates and others were already making plans to meet at the dance by using some secret signal or other. 

The dance was still more than a month and a half away. Lily headed up to her room to get away from the noise. Mr. Ancient Runes waited invitingly on her desk. She paused just outside the doorway to her private room. Was that a clank just inside the door? No one should be in there. Maybe they were searching for something. For her? The person was probably lying in wait, waiting for her to open the door, before springing his trap. 

Lily clamed herself and whipped out her wand. On her mental count of three, she blasted open the door and held her wand menacingly in front of her. "Alright, show yourself, or I'll hex you to the Dark Ages!" she said with the most courage she could muster. She blinked her eyes, trying to see through the dark. 

"Lillian. It's me, you can put your wand away," said a pleasant male voice. 

No one called her Lillian, except her parents. But they couldn't be here. Lily waved her wand and the candles in her room flared up. 

"Grayer? Grayer!" she squealed. "How'd you get in here. What a pleasant surprise! I mean th-" 

Grayer crossed the room in three seconds and held a finger to her lips, motioning for her to be quiet. She fell silent. He picked her up deposited her onto the large four poster bed against the left wall. Grayer leaned down to breathe into her ear. "I love you, Lily. I've loved you since the first time I laid eyes on you." 

Just staring into his gray eyes made her breathless. "Oh, Grayer," she said softly. 

"Shhh, darling," he murmured into her hair. And suddenly he was kissing her forehead, her eyelids, her mouth, moving his way down to her neck, undressing her all the while. He stopped and looked into her eyes. "Lily," he said. 

"Yes?" 

"Lily. Lily! Lily! LILY!" he was yelling her name over and over again. "LILY!" 

Lily jerked awake to find Sybil standing over her. She looked around to find herself sitting in front of the fire in the common room. 

"Lils, you were muttering in your sleep. I _had_ to wake you up. Besides, people might hear you," Sybil said reprovingly. 

Lily gasped and looked around the empty room. "Did anyone hear? I mean, I hope no one found out." 

"Relax. I don't think anybody heard. They all left for bed. But you're lucky. If someone had come over before I woke you up, the whole school would know about your 'dearest love, Grayer'." 

Sybil was rewarded with a swat from a pillow in the face. "I did not say that." 

"Of course you didn't," Sybil said matter of factly. "But the 'Oh Grayer!" was pretty much enough to give it away." 

"Sybil!" Lily exclaimed. 

"Okay, okay. But if you really like him that much, why don't you just make a move?" 

"Oh no! I just couldn't! I mean, what if I told him how I felt and he didn't feel the same way? Imagine what a fool I would've been!" 

"You wouldn't be a fool. You'd be embarrassed maybe, but never a fool!" 

"I appreciate your faith in me, but Sybil, I just couldn't! So let's leave it at that." 

Sybil rolled her eyes. Lily never left things at that. Before the month was through, she could guarantee that Lily would at least try to get Grayer to notice her. But there was no use in trying to convince her right now. "Fine. Let's go to bed. It's late anyway." 

Thankful that the subject of Grayer had been left alone, Lily trudged up the stairs and went to bed. 

**-**

When Madame entered the dance hall, all the students were already neatly lined up in two rows, busily stretching. They learned fast, this bunch. "You have three minutes left to finish stretching. Once you're done, pair up with the same person you had last week. Bistro, Evans, Weasly, Lupin, to the corner right away." 

Lily broke away from the line and quickly jogged over to where Madame was waiting. "The performance is coming up and though the rest of the class is coming alond quite nicely, the fact still remains that you four are the best dancers. Don't look so smug Bistro. Now since this recital is supposed to be an hour long, each pair will have to dance twice. That won't cut an hour, but we'll just fill in gaps with some of the rest of the class. Something easy. But, to the matter at hand. We've been working on the Beregac Flamenco. Let's see you four practice it. Take your places." 

The music started and Lily eased into the familiar tune. She and Nicole went through all the steps prefunctorally. The boys eased out and Lily went back to seducing Remus. When the song ended, the pairs separated and looked at Madame for approval. "Don't move away so fast!" she exclaimed. "Mr. Lupin, Ms. Evans, excellent as usual. You two," she nodded towards Nicole and Arthur, "are much too stiff. I hate to spring this on you, but you must put more passion into it. Keep practicing. I'll seal off your corner so it doesn't bother the other students. Start! Not you, Evans, Lupin, come here." 

Confused, the pair left Nicole and Arthur to their own devices. "I hate to ask this of you two, but you seem to know just about every dance there is. And since Bistro and Weasly need all the practice they can get, you will have to do two different dances. It's going to be some work, but I'm confident you can master it. Since it's a rush job, I'll let you pick the dances you are most comfortable with. But not swing dancing. That's easier and I'll have the other two do that. I have to go teach the rest of the class their dance so I'll leave you two to discuss it. Just decide and start practicing. I've sealed your area as well. Flick your wand twice while saying the name of the dance and the music will start." With the abrupt instructions, Madame walked off and Remus and Lily were left alone in a magically sealed airspace. 

Remus turned to Lily and laughed. "So what do you think?" 

"I'm not sure," she replied. "There's the fox-trot." 

Remus shook his head. "Too stuffy. What about the tango? Samba? Cha-cha?" 

"Cha-cha sounds nice. Any other suggestions?" 

"Nope." 

Lily bit her bottom lip thoughtfully. "I just don't want to do anything like the tango where we have to act like we're in love or something. No offense though!" 

"None taken," Remus said graciously. 

Lily looked relieved. "How about the bolero. No! The meringue! What do you think?" 

"Cha-cha and meringue eh? Sounds good to me. And once we've practiced, we can just leave right away. We don't even have to keep showing up for class anymore. At least, until after the performance." 

"Who told you that?" asked Lily incredulously. "If this is some stupid idea of Sirius's to get out of class and pull pranks with you-" She only half-meant it though. A break would be nice, but she had her Head Girl image to keep. Pity, really. The position wasn't all it was cracked up to be. 

"Don't worry." Remus reassured her. "Madame told me so herself. And here's the best part. She's given me a note so that we can get out of classes to practice anytime we need to. But it'll only work on some teachers. I don't McGonagall was up for it. I'm going to use it today on Binns in History of Magic." 

Lily was looking at him with a disapproving glare. "Awwww, come on Lily! It's the seventh year! We've more than payed our dues to Binns! The class is a beastly bore! He just drones on and on!" 

"Why Remus Lupin!" Lily said in a mock tone with her hands on her hips. "You aren't the gentleman I thought you were if you think you can just get out of class without inviting me along!" The look on Remus's face changed from disappointed to jovial. "Honestly," Lily went on. "The only interesting thing that's happened in his class was the third year when he fell asleep in front of the fire and died. I think that he hasn't even caught on that he's a ghost yet!" 

Remus opened his mouth to something, but Madame, striding into their Sealed space, beat him to it. "So, my starlets, have you decided on which dances you will perform?" 

A picture of the perfect student, Lily replied, betraying absolutely no hint that only a minute before she had finalized plans to skip class. "Oh yes! The meringue and the-" She looked to Remus for conformation. 

"Cha-cha," he finished for her. 

Madame was clearly disappointed with the selections. "Are you sure you wouldn't want to do something like the tango? It would be entertaining. No? Hmmm. Well, the meringue and cha-cha will do quite nicely." She didn't push it any further than that, but the pair caught the suggestion. 

"It's better to take things slow isn't it?" Remus said with a wink. Madame seemed cheered by this. 

"Right, right. Of course, don't want to push you. Feel free to leave whenever you're done. I've also given Mr. Lupin a note in case you need extra practice. Look at this!" she said gesturing towards a heavyset girl who had one of the boys in a headlock, her partner, no doubt. "I'm gone one minute and something like happens!" 

As she hurried off, Lily and Remus heard her yelling, "Mr. Tonks! Didn't I warn you that something like this might happen if you didn't watch where you placed your hands?" 

Remus burst out laughing, but Lily quickly silenced him with a look. "What!" 

"Remus Lupin! You know full well! What was that comment about? 'better to take things slow!' ?" 

"Lily, I was just having a spot of fun! Madame thinks we fancy each other. Sorry, but you're not for me." 

"Why? Am I not pretty enough for you?" Lily teased. 

Her friend, thinking she was serious, was quick to assure her the contrary. "To be honest, right now, I'm not very interested in girls. With schoolwork and all. Erhm, shall we get down to practicing? I'll start the music for the meringue." 

Cheered by the thought of dancing, Lily let the subject drop. 

Madame gave herself a mental pat on the back as she watched the two dancing. 

**-**

Meanwhile, James wasn't having as easy a time in football. True to his word, the professor had split the class up into two teams and currently, James's team was trailing 9-2 against Snape's team. 

He groaned as across the field, Snape's team scored again. With only five minutes left, James had pretty much given up and had resorted to thinking up schemes to snag Priscilla as his girlfriend. So entrenched in his thoughts, he jumped when Snape sneaked up behind him. 

"Potter! Look at the score! Seems like your pathetic team is going to lose. Not that you ever had a chance to begin with. Why don't you just forfeit now?" he sneered. 

Annoyed, James flung out, "It isn't over until the fat lady sings, Snape." 

Sanpe seemed taken aback at this. "You leave my mother out of this!" he hissed and jogged away. 

Confused, James just shook his head and gathered up his things when class was over. He changed and headed over to Gryffindor tower when he overheard Arthur Weasly say, "Can you believe it? She actually agreed! I'm going up to meet her tonight at eight." 

"No kidding" James heard Amos Diggory reply. "I offered her ten Galleons but she wouldn't take my money. Said that it was fun for her. So you're one of the other guys. She told me that a few other guys would be there too." 

Hidden in the corner, James's mind was reeling. A girl in Hogwarts was offering her services to guys! He wasn't sure, but from what he'd heard, prostitution was illegal in both the Muggle and wizarding world. He checked his watch. Fifteen minutes before Muggle Lit. He'd stay and try to find out who the mystery girl was. 

"Yeah. She's really nice. She'll go nice and slow if you need her too. And she is good. Did you see her the other day with Remus?" Arthur said. "Lily is amazing, can go for hours!" 

"Shhhh!" Amos hissed, looking around. "Remember? Someone might hear. She said to keep it mum. There's about four or five guys already. A girl can only handle so much!" 

"Oh right, right. I forgot. Speaking of Remus, I hear he's going to be there, too. Did you see him and Lily? And did you see what she did with him? The thing with the arms." Arthur at this point, made some vague motions with his arms. 

In his hiding place, James blinked. Lily? Head Girl Lily? Was a streetwalker? Who'd have suspected? And imagine Remus being a regular customer! He looked up and down the narrow corridor. The only way out was to walk past Arthur and Amos. Figuring that now was a good time as any, James casually strolled out into the open. Upon spotting him, the pair fell silent. 

"Hello. Best be getting to class now. The bell's about to ring," he nodded encouragingly down the corridor. James brushed past and continued on his way to Muggle Lit. in a daze. He only half-noticed when he walked in class on time and took a seat in the front, just before Professor Powell walked in. 

The class was breathless with excitement. "We've got a lot to do today," said the professor. "So we won't tally. First, the partners. There's a copy of the list on everyone's desk. Once you have spotted your partner, please exchange seats so that you are sitting next to each other." 

James was still in a daze when a Slytherin boy poked him in the ribs. "You're in my seat." 

"What? Oh, hmmmm. Yes, of course," said James finally snapping out of the trance. He quickly looked down the list. _Potter, James: Lestrange, Bellatrix_

She didn't seem to be in yet so he glanced at the list again. James noticed that there was a stray name at the bottom of the list. Due to the number of odd people in the class, Lily was left with no partner. 

She didn't get it and strode up to Robert's desk to ask him about it. "Excuse me, Professor, I don't seem to have a partner. I understand that since there's an odd number of people I don't have one, but I can't help wondering -" 

"Of course. It's only natural for you to be curious. Well, you can work with me." He leaned forward to whisper in her ear. "Such a pretty girl as yourself deserves better than these other, _boys_. You're extremely mature for your age, Lily. Don't worry about keeping busy. I'll give you a _special_ assignment for this class." 

Lily stepped backwards. Was he coming on to her? "Professor! If you think that I would eve-" 

"Oh no, Lily. It's not like _that_! I can assure you that my intentions are absolutely honorable. I was saying that you are a very talented girl. And your hair color! I've never seen anything like it! Auburn, if I'm not mistaken." 

James was too far away to hear the conversation, but he noticed Lily blushing from something Powell said. Whatever it was, it made him feel uncomfortable that they were so close. Wasn't Robert just as avid a believer in not associating with Muggle-borns? 

"James!" Robert exclaimed as he made his way towards the professor's desk. "Can I help you with anything." He said this as more of a comment than a question, as if daring James to interrupt. 

Well, it was going to take more than a look to intimidate James Potter! "Actually yes, my partner doesn't seem to be here and I couldn't help noticing that Ms. Evans here doesn't have one either." 

Robert's eyes narrowed viciously. "So what if she doesn't?" He was fortunately turned away from Lily so she didn't see the scowl on his face. 

James was confused for the second time that day. What was Robert going at? "Wouldn't it be better if Ev- Ms. Evans and myself were paired?" 

"Nonsense, why would she want to work with anyone like you?" 

Robert's smug smile faded as Lily spoke up. "I wouldn't mind terribly. I mean, I'm rather eager in this whole project. And I'm sure that whoever James's partner was could help you with. . .erhm. . . your other work." 

"Very well, Lily. If you wish, but could I have the pleasure of seeing you in my office tonight to finish our discussion? Say around eight-ish?" The insinuation was unmistakable. But if Lily noticed, James thought she was concealing it very well. 

"I'm really sorry, Robert, but I've got sort of a thing I need to be doing. And a lot of people are counting on me; I just couldn't let them down," she said apologetically. Robert raised his eyeborws. 

James intervened before Lily could say anything incriminating. He dragged her to two seats in the back corner of the room. 

"Let go of me! What are you doing!" Lily exclaimed in a whisper, not wanting anyone to hear. 

"I was getting you away from Powell. Did you see the way he looked at you when he asked to see you later today?" 

"Nonsense," said Lily, not quite able to meet his eye. "He probably just had some random paperwork for me to file or something. Or something to copy. His intentions are perfectly honorable. He told me so himself." 

James had half a mind to strangle her for her apparent stupidity. "Hasn't anyone ever told you never to trust a thing that boys say? Merlin! You're sure naive for someone who isn't as pure as she comes across to be." He was, of course referring to her illicit activities within the hallowed halls of Hogwarts. 

Lily's eyes widened for a split-second before returning to their normal icy stare. Otherwise, James had no indication that what he said had any effect on her. 

When Lily finally spoke, it was low and dangerous. "Don't talk of things you don't know about! You're just like the lot of them! Rich, proud, inconsiderate. Look, I don't know how you know, but you better not be poking around my private business!" 

James was about to ask her why she did what she did if the guys were as bad as she made them out to be, but Lily clapped a small hand over his mouth before he could say anything. Outraged that he was being treated like a child, he tried to pry Lily's hand off his mouth, to no avail. And though he hated to do what he was going to do, James did it anyway. He spit in her hand. 

The effect was instantaneous. Lily jumped up and slapped him across the face, not hard enough to transfer a mark, but nonetheless, it left a wet trail down his cheek, guilty reminder of what he'd just done. 

Fortunately, some of the more incompetent members of the class were still swapping partners in the pool of shuffling masses, and no one noticed. 

"Quiet!" roared Powell. The class, sensing that he was in a bad mood, simmered down. "Now that you all have your partners, I'm going to transfer all of us into a book, just to show you what it will feel like. Brace yourself, on the count of three." He waved his wand in an intricate pattern. 

"One." Robert brought his wand down in a quick swish. "Two." Another swish. 

"Three!" But before the swish was completed, the classroom melted away in a blur of colors, shifting, changing, melding into something different altogether. 

When the colors settled, everyone was peering around curiously. The whole class was in the middle of a large crowd congregated at the front of a general store. She couldn't see through the hordes of people, but Lily had a vague impression that they were in some Western of some sorts. All the women, including herself were wearing elaborate dresses with hoop-skirts. There weren't many men around, only boys and those who had just come from Hogwarts. 

The door to the general store creaked open and a young man stepped out with a stack of papers in his thin-looking arms. James noticed that everyone around him seemed to have held their breath. "Wha-" he started to whisper, but received an elbow in the ribs from Lily. 

"Shhh!" 

The young man opened his mouth. "Casualty Lists! Casualty Lists!" he yelled. At these words, everyone came alive. James was shoved out of the way as a gray-haired woman pushed her way to the front. He was overcome by heaps of cloth and arms. 

"Here! Here!" 

"Please! I need to know if my Brent's still alive!" 

All the words had become jumbled as everybody was calling and reaching out for a list. Lily, being perceived as a lady, wasn't pushed to the back, but had received a list straight off. A certain gray-haired lady (the same one James had seen), in her haste had jabbed Lily in the ribs. It knocked the wind out of her and she made a solemn vow to never do that to anyone else again. 

A boy, who looked no more than fifteen or so, misinterpreted her lack of wind and rushed to Lily's elbow. "I'm awfully sorry, miss. I know what it feels like. You see, I lost my big brother to them Yanks, too. What you need is a breath of fresh air." His voice was pleasant and his hands gentle as he led her through the crowd to the shade of a nearby store-front. 

"Would you like some water, miss?" he asked, concerned. 

"Oh no thank you," Lily replied in her best Southern belle accent. "If you don't mind, I'd like to be alone for a bit." 

"Yes, of course. I didn't mean to be so forward," he apologized. "If you need anything, call for Charlie Calvert." With a tip of the hat, he was off to comfort a wailing woman in a horse drawn carriage. 

"Lily!" 

She turned around, searching for the source of the voice. 

"Lily!" Severus Snape came up behind her and dragged her behind a nondescript ladies' hat shop. She found the whole class waiting for her. 

Robert swished his wand three times again and Lily found herself sitting in the back of the room with James again. This time, the transformation hadn't been quite so slow. Rather, they had been jerked back. 

James looked around the classroom and saw that most of them were blinking in wonder. Lily was still breathing shallowly, still not having regained all of her breath yet. 

"So how was that?" asked Robert to a very excited class, receiving cheers of enthusiasm in return. "Now, who can tell me what book we were in? No, Mr. Finnigan, don't look at me like that. We had plenty of time. Almost an hour, actually." 

Lily's hand shot up, narrowly missing James' glasses. She didn't even wait for Robert to call on her before answering. 

"We were in _Gone With the Wind_, written in 1936 by Margaret Mitchell. It was her first and only novel, selling over a million copies before the year's end. It had been translated into 24 different languages and the adapted movie starring Clark Gable and Vivian Leigh was nominated for no less than sixteen Academy Awards, eventually winning Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Picture." 

"Hmm. Very good, Lily. Twenty points to Gryffindor. Not many people would've known from such a less important part in the book, even provided with the amount of time we were there. Yes, Rosier?" 

"Sir, I mean, Robert. If you said we spent and hour in the book, how come the clock only shows that we've been gone twenty minutes?" 

"It's good that you asked. Time in different dimensions always moves at unpredictable rate. Going into the book is similar to going into a different dimension, only I've figured out that in our case, the time in the real world will always move slower. Hence the contradiction in the time elasped." 

Satisfied, Rosier went back to cutting Alice Fletcher's braids off. Robert pretended not to notice. 

"Let's get started then shall we? Good. Starting right now, you'll be competing with your other classmates for the 500 House points. Right, go!" 

Everyone was sitting blankly in their seats. Lily was afraid that they were supposed to do something. Fortunately, James sighed, rolled his eyes, and flicked his wand in the exact same pattern that Robert did, thus causing the room to meld and swirl again. 

When the room cleared, Lily found herself standing beside a long banquet table inside a ballroom floor. 

"Elizabeth?" 

"Elizabeth, darling?" Realizing that she was supposed to be the so-called 'Elizabeth', Lily turned to face a tall brunette woman. She had been beautiful once, but the years had taken its toll. Despite her age, there was an unmistakable aura of young freshness around the woman, remembrances of times long gone. Yet through all that, she detected no sophistication in this woman, to tact. 

"Goodness, Elizabeth! You gave me quite a fright. I thought you were in some sort of trance, the way you were just standing there, staring at the punch bowl. Here let me fix your Basque ribbons, they're mussed." 

The woman reached down and retied some green ribbons on Lily's ball gown. _Really,_ Lily thought, _what was with Robert and these ball gown scenarios? First Gone With the Wind, now this._

"Poor Charles back there," the woman, supposedly Mother, nodded towards a cluster of young gentlemen, "hasn't danced with anyone all night. He's smitten with you! Can't you just dance with him once?" 

"But Mother!" Lily said, getting a vague notion of exactly where she was. 

"Don't but mother me. He's rich. No less than 250 pounds a year! At least go and talk to him! Now, shoo!" Mother admonished, giving her a slight shove. 

With nothing else to do, she slowly approached the corner, where all of the men, upon spotting her, immediately straightened. Casting around in the dark, Lily turned to one of the men. "Hello." 

They all blushed profusely and Charles (she supposed) stepped forward. "Erhm. Miss Bennett, may I have this waltz?" 

"Why, of course!" Lily smiled, extending a hand towards the reddening boy, really. He led her out to the dance floor and they started up the slow and easy steps. But no more than half a minute passed, when another young gentleman tapped Charles on the shoulder, proclaiming, "May I cut in?" 

Charles pouted a bit, but manners were manners and he graciously gave up his dancing partner. Lily found that this switch of partners happened frequently with her, and after a while, occupied herself with trying to spot James in the crowd. 

The clock struck eleven and one by one, all of the ladies drifted off into an adjacent room. The men sat down at the table and began to smoke their expensively rolled cigars. 

"Who's up for a game of poker?" asked a paunchy gentleman whose waistcoat looked in danger of bursting for the strain. "Why Elizabeth! You're still here." 

Lily tried to act cool. Had she committed some sort of taboo by remaining with the gentlemen? Was it simply not tolerated in society? 

Charles came to her defense. "She always stays, Pongo. Where've you been all this time?" Pongo, with the paunch, looked flustered, and everyone laughed good-naturedly at his distress. 

Lily smiled, but was beginning to worry about James when she absently wandered over to the punch table across the room to pour herself a glass. "Hello, _Elizabeth_." 

The unexpected voice caused her to jump and the glass slipped from her fingers, splashing punch all over herself before James deftly caught it inches from hitting the floor. He lazily replaced the glass on the white tablecloth and turned to face her with an amused smile. 

"Really, you must be more careful. You've got punch all over yourself," he said in a patronizing tone. Lily, being annoyed at his demeanor, didn't say anything and looked around for some napkins. 

"Here, let me help," James said as he drew out a pocket handkerchief and started dabbing at the punch on her. She looked down to assess the damage done to the gown. Punch was all over the front and had discolored the mauve of the material into a sickly orange color. 

What with his being so nice and all, Lily began to feel guilty for being so rude to him, but as she looked up to thank him, she saw that he was staring intently at her décolletage. It wasn't his fault, really. The neckline was cut so low it could be considered as an architectural hazard. 

Embarrassed, she grabbed the handkerchief out of his hand. "I can do it myself," she muttered. "Thank you." 

James raised an eyebrow. "You didn't seem to mind before," he smiled at her blush. "In fact, I think the view's especially pleasant fro-" 

"Don't you dare say it! Sirius used it already and I know full well what it means!" she cut off. Then suddenly noticing that she had perhaps spoken too loud, Lily found herself with Charles by her side. 

"Did he say something to offend you, Miss Elizabeth?" he asked protectively. 

"Erhm, it's nothing really." 

"Ha! I don't believe it. Of course, I wouldn't expect any better from an ill-bred ruffian. No wonder Yorkshire won't accept him." 

James narrowed his eyes. "Well it's better than being a silly overgrown boy!" 

Things were getting out of hand. "It's nothing really. Just forget it, please?" Lily asked beseechingly. 

"It's none of your bloody business. Stay out of it!" James snapped. 

"Do not, sir, raise you voice to a lady!" 

Seeing that things were starting to get out of hand, Lily jumped between the two. "Let's just forget about it. It was nothing really. We probably have to be going back anyway." This last part, she hissed to James. Looking as if he could barely contain himself, he grabbed Lily's arm none too gently, not noticing in his anger. 

"Let's go!" 

And before anyone knew what had happened, Charlie's fist connected with James's left eye with a sickening crunch of knuckles, causing him to stagger back a few steps. 

"That'll teach you to manhandle a lady like tha-" Charlie never finished his declaration because just then, James hit him squarely in the jaw. There was a moment of breathless anticipation as both stood quietly, surveying the other. With a sudden yell, Charlie rushed at James, wrapping his arms around James's abdomen, drove him into the opposite wall. In retaliation, James drove his knee into the other's stomach. 

Lily and the remaing three gentlemen watched in silence, feeling no compunction whatsoever to get in the middle of the brawl, the gentlemen from obvious enjoyment, and Lily from she couldn't say. And in a perverse way, she felt flattered that two men were fighting over her, even if one had to be torn to bits in the process. 

The two were still tussling, rolling around on the floor. By now, it was clear that Charlie was the weaker of the two. Both were thoroughly winded and James, in an attempt to end the whole thing stood up, with some difficulty and said, "Look. Can't we just forget all about this? This is crazy!" 

Instead of the assent he was expecting, James was replied with wild swing at his head. Ducking, he grabbed Charlie, picked him up and threw him across the room, where he lay there in a crumpled heap. Lily ran to him and checked his pulse. 

She picked up a pitcher full of ice water and threw it over him. Charlie blearily opened his eyes and smiled at her, receiving a frown in return. 

"I am very disappointed in you, Charlie! What on earth got into you?" 

"He insulted you, and grabbed you in an indecent manner. Why I'd thi-" 

"Nonsense! I told you it was nothing. Besides, what else did you expect but this when you started it? He's much stronger than you!" 

"You didn't think I could take him on?" Charlie said indignantly. "I thought you had more faith in me." 

"Honestly, you fool! You're jus-" She was interrupted by a grunt from somewhere behind her. Lily turned to see the other three men ganging up on James. Three against one, why it just wasn't fair! He was already down and tired, without having to deal with three healthy men! 

She marched right up to the three. "Just what do you think you're doing? Get out! GET OUT! How dare you hit a man while he's down! You ought to be ashamed! GET OUT!" 

They widened their eyes and quickly exited, two of them supporting Charlie, who could barely walk. Once the double-doors had clicked shut, Lily rushed over to James, lying on his side. She got down on her knees and rolled him so that his back was to the ground. 

"James? James can you hear me?" she asked, her voice quavering a little. 

No answer. Lily took the handkerchief she was still holding and dipped it into another pitcher of water, wiping his face gently. She dipped the handkerchief into the pitcher again and wrung it out, taking in his face. His left eye had already turned purple, swollen shut, and the blood from his nose was trailing down to his split lip. There were also traces of bruises that were beginning to show. 

She gently mopped his brow, near tears. "Oh, James. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry about all this. I- I should've stopped it, but I didn't. Please say something." Upon getting no answer, Lily let go of the handkerchief and sobbed gently into his neck. "I'm sorry for being so horrible. And I'm sorry for all the times I ever called you an arrogant babboon's arse. And I'm sorry for stealing the raspberry cremes and- please say something." 

Lily felt James shift slightly under her and lifted her head. "Don't move, I had an enjoyable time looking down your dress," James said weakly. 

Relieved, Lily gave him a watery smile and threw her arms around him, causing him to wince slightly. "I don't know what I would've done!" she cried, her voice muffled from being buried in his chest. Never having been in a position like this before, James awkwardly patted her back. 

There was an embarrassed pause as she quickly drew back. James was staring at something rather intently on the ceiling, while Lily picked at the carpet. 

"Well, erhm. Of course, I highly doubt that the wonderful staff at Hogwarts would let the Heads get killed. We'd better get back." 

Straightening, Lily became all business. "You're right. I suppose you'll have to go to Madame Pomfrey's. Can you walk on your own?" James nodded the affirmative. "Good. The moment we get back, get out of the room and down to the hospital wing. Don't worry about Robert, I'll take care of him." James nodded and she helped him to his feet. 

With some difficulty, seeing as how James was leaning on her, Lily took out her wand from an artfully concealed pocket in her dress and flicked it three times. She felt the same jerking feeling as they were both pulled back into the classroom. 

Lily was still a bit disoriented, but the moment they set foot in the classroom, James had taken off. Robert was behind his desk writing a letter when he looked up. 

"Ah, Lily! Tell me, where did James run off to in such a hurry?" 

Torn between giving a full length explanation and seeing if James was okay, Lily paused for a second. "We were in the book and James got into a fistfight and he's badly hurt and he needs to go to the hospital wing." It all came out in a rush, but feeling it was sufficient enough, she dashed out. "By the way," she said as she paused for a second at the door. "It was _Pride and Prejudice_, I think." And she was off. 

**-**

The first place she checked was the hospital wing, but Madame Pomfrey claimed that no one had staggered in. "It's a rather slow semester. I'm surprised, being that Quidditch season has already started and all." she stated. Lily thanked her and scoured the hallways. Supposing James never made it to the wing? Suppose he was accosted on his way there by some second form boys? 

"Have you seen James perchance?" she asked of a fourth year Hufflepuff girl. This was probably the fifteenth person she'd questioned. The answers were all the same. None of them had seen him. 

The kitchens, the Quidditch pitch. Lily even checked the library even though she knew that the chances of finding him in there were next to nil. Passing a large grandfather clock in the fourth floor corridor, she noted the time. Twenty minutes before Arithmancy. She wasn't too bothered by the time constraints though, after all, being Head Girl had its privileges. 

The Common Room was deserted by the time she got there. Everyone was obviously in classes. Lily sighed and sank down on one of the settees, not caring that she just crushed someone's History of Magic essay. She closed her eyes in thought. Where could James be? A person who didn't know her might think that she was overreacting, but she had her reasons. There had been that last time with Alistair. She couldn't let that happen again. 

"Excuse me, you're sitting on my essay." 

Lily, leaned to the side so that the speaker could retrieve his trapped paper. "Shouldn't you be in class?" she asked with her eyes still closed. 

"Actually, I didn't feel like going. Or rather, I went and walked out. Don't feel like going back." 

Lily opened her eyes to scold the student and found James looking at her with a grin on his face. 

"James! My God, you're still alive! You look fine! How did that happen?" she exclaimed, not really interested in the answers, just happy he was okay. 

"You know," James said rubbing the back of his head. "I don't rightly know. I came back in the classroom, dashed out and found myself in the hallway with no bloody nose, no broken ribs, no black eye and whatnot. Amazing, really." 

Lily furrowed her brow and pursed her lips. "I guess whatever happens in there isn't real so it doesn't have any effect on the real world we live in." 

James shrugged. "The pain was real enough, though. I mean, during the brawl. It's gone now, but it's not something I'm willing to do again next time, that's for sure." 

"We'd best get down Arithmancy anyway. No use dwelling." Lily started to gather up her books, meeting with James's incredulous look. 

"Arithmancy? Today's Wednesday! We have History of Magic." 

"Oh that's right, I forgot!" exclaimed Lily slapping her head. She dropped her bag onto a table. 

"You know what Lily? I think you're losing your touch." James teased, surprised she hadn't snapped at him. Lily rolled her eyes and headed towards the portrait hole. "Hey wait! Aren't you going to bring your books?" 

Lily scoffed. "History of magic? Are you noddy? I'm not going to that class! Oh, come off it!" she said to James's gaping mouth. 

"Y- you'll get caught for sure!" James blubbered. 

"Honestly, are you stupid? You're Head Boy, I'm Head Girl. If we're stopped, we'll just say we have heads business to attend to." 

"Isn't that lying?" James asked dazedly. Apparently, the thought of Lily cutting class was something that took him more than a little time to process. 

"Of course not! We have the masquerade to plan anyway. That's heads business. We just won't tell them when we're going to discuss it. So technically it's not an untruth." 

"Well Toto, we're definitely not in Kansas anymore." James blinked and returned to his normal self. He followed her out of the common room in a daze. 

**-**

Reaching the bottom of the second floor stairs, Lily and James found the other three Marauders already waiting for them. A little surprised at Lily showing up, and James following her around like a puppy, they were silent for a moment. Lily leaned over to Remus and whispered into his ear. "Are we still on for tonight?" Remus nodded and turned to James who was now watching the two of them intently. 

"We thought you'd never show. Let's get going shall we?" 

"Erhm, excuse me, but what exactly are you doing?" Lily asked furtively, not really feeling a part of their group. 

Sirius slung an arm over her shoulders. "Turning the Slytherin Quidditch robes into pretty pink party frocks." He laughed at this thought, obviously pleased with himself. 

The mention of Slytherin, however, made Lily think of Grayer. He didn't deserve that from the Marauders! She turned to James. "Look, are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, I know it seems fun, but if you get caught, it'll be a lot of trouble. I also," she straightened, "have an obligation to report any wrongdoing I encounter as Head Girl, and I think James will agree with me." 

"What're you doing?" James hissed. 

Taken aback, Lily immediately became hostile. "Well then, don't come running to me when you get into trouble." With that, she stalked off. 


	6. Chapter Six, Revised

**Kissing a Fool   
Chapter Six (Revised)   
By Dinkee-Dino**

**Disclaimer:** All the stuff (excluding characters you don't know and the plot) belongs to the richest woman in the UK until tax time. 

Lily had fallen in love for the first time at the age of twelve. It wasn't with some raven-haired mystery man. It wasn't with a timid and sweet boy-next-door. No, she fell in love with something less substantial. Movies. Classic movies. 

After spending most of her pocket money on sweets one day, she came across a rather old theatre, complete with peeling paint and mildewed signs. Drawn by the marquee that shouted out a cheap price for the movie, she bought a ticket. The movie had already started, and she took a seat in the theatre, empty save for a few old inhabitants. It was _Casablanca_ and from the moment she saw Rick Blaine hide Ugarte's letters of transit in a piano, it was love at first sight. 

When the movie ended, she bought another ticket to watch it over again. And again. And again, until she had no more money left. For the next few weeks, Lily went around humming "As Time Goes By" every waking moment. It had driven Petunia crazy. The moment she received her pocket money the next month, she rushed over to the theater to watch it's featured film. 

_The Maltese Falcon_, _Gone With the Wind_, _All About Eve_, _Gigi_. She devoured them hungrily, one after another. Week after week, she cried with Greta Garbo, told lies alongside Bette Davis, and sang duets with Gene Kelly. 

She often wished that real life could be exactly what was portrayed on the silver screen. Life, though not always simple, nearly always ended happily, or at least predictably. The characters, the dialogue, the scenery, they would always stay the same no matter how many years passed in real life. It seemed, at the time, that her fighting parents, her spiteful sister, they all could learn something from the movie greats. There were countless words of wisdom from the impressionable characters on the screen. 

When Margo Channing was faced with a conniving usurper, she fought back for a while, yes, but in the end she realized it wasn't worth it and went along happily with her life. Petunia, for instance, could learn from that. Sometimes there were things you didn't particularly like, but you learned to deal with them without compromising your integrity. 

This very same credo should've been applied to James Potter, but something in him always brought out her worst side. What had happened? It seemed to go well, but after James's confrontation in the hall, both had sunk back into their normal stony silence. James, not approving of her private dance tutoring sessions, and she not approving of his controlling demand that she stop. It wasn't as if was doing anything illegal, more than she could say for Robert and James. 

Lily often found them conversing in hushed voices before class, or in hallways, the subjects of which she knew nothing about. She continued her easygoing friendship with Robert, but when confronted about his connection with James, he would never give her a straight answer, often replying with something like, "We've met before," or "A friends of ours introduced each other to us a couple years back." Though it bothered her to no end, she had decided to no longer pursue the matter. 

"Lils? Are you there?" A hand waving in front of her face startled her and she cut herself with the knife she held. Lily looked around to find herself in Potions, chopping belladonna, with Sybil next to her, looking concerned. 

"You just drifted off. I got worried. Look at you! You just cut yourself. Now get out of here, and move yourself to the hospital wing. Belladonna's toxic, I think." Sybil started to push her towards the door. 

"I'll be fine. It's just a cut, not some life-threatening stab wound. It's not like I'm going to. . . die," she trailed off. 

Sybil, well aware of how Lily's brother Alistair had died in a barroom brawl from a knife wound delivered by an angry customer, tried to get her friend's mind off the memory of it. "Nonsense, you will get that cut (now bleeding profusely) examined or I will inform out dear little Grayer of your undying passion for him." 

"Fine, fine," grumbled Lily. "Aren't we much like the pushy old fat man?" she muttered. "Next thing I know, she'll start slipping me drugged pumpkin juice and ordering me to find a stupid bird!" 

Sybil, by now used to her friend's allusions to various classic movies and their characters, made no indication that she heard. James, who saw Lily walk out of the room talking to herself, confirmed his suspicions that the woman was crazy. 

Though James was wrong about the fact of Lily's mental stablility, Sybil was indeed correct about the fact that belladonna was poisonous. A quarter of the way down the Potions corridor, Lily began to feel dizzy. The tapestry next to her started to turn hazy; she shook her head to clear it, to no avail. Her knees buckled and reached out a hand, grabbing the nearest suit of armor. 

The armor was no armor, however, but turned to to be someone's arm. 

"What happened?" Severus Snape's voice said from somewhere beside her. 

Lily sat down. "Erhm. . . Potions and I cut myself slicing belladonna. I'll be fine. Just a bit dizzy that's all." 

Severus turned brisk. "Let me see the cut," he demanded. She raised her finger. 

"It doesn't look too deep. That's good. This might sting a little." He tapped her wound twice and it closed up. 

"Thanks," Lily replied weakly. Severus offered her his hand and hoisted her up. She reeled momentarily. 

"I'm sorry," she shook her head again. "There's this god-awful pounding that's in my head." 

Lily clutched his arm as they started walking. "That's just a minor side-effect of the belladonna," Severus said. "You'll feel better in no time. Just take a couple aspirin." 

"Can't Madame Pomfrey do anything?" 

"Wizards don't have a spell for everything, you know," he smiled. "Just because we have wands, it doesn't mean we're above Muggle methods. Here, let me walk you to the common room. It'll just take a few minutes to wear off." 

"That's a relief. I thought I might have some permanent disfiguring mark or something. Like sprouting a third eye. That would be such a shame. Imagine!" 

Severus turned serious. "No matter how much your outward appearance might change, it would make no difference to those that adore and admire you." 

"Goodness! What on earth are you going on about? I'm not sure if that's the sweetest thing I've ever heard or the craziest!" 

"I'm being perfectly honest. There are many here who are very pleased that you grace our school with your presence. And there are more than enough that admire you. Only the most mature ones, of course. You couldn't expect someone like Potter to appreciate true beauty." 

Lily laughed at this. "Of course not! Last week, he took one look at the scarf I knitted and asked me where the hoe-down was. As if people wear scarves at those things!" The conversation was making her rather uncomfortable. 

Upon this, Severus decided that Lily had either missed his true meaning or refused to acknowledge it. Still, he was getting through to her and Robert would no doubt be pleased with his ah. . . progress. 

They found the Marauders already occupying the Common Room, gaining access through some secret passage no doubt. 

"Lils, what's wrong?" Remus crossed the room to the couch where Lily sat down on. "You're not sick are you?" 

"I'm fine really," she said with a dismissive wave. "Just a bit of a headache. I'll be fine." 

Sirius and Peter were trying hard not to look worried, while James, didn't seem to care at all. "It's nothing! Look at her, she's perfectly fine, can we get back to our business over here please?" 

"Oh shut up, Prongs," hissed Peter. 

"I'll be fine really, can someone just get me a couple aspirin?" Lily asked meekly. 

"Of course! Are you sure you're still up for tonight?" Remus asked in an undertone. 

"Sure, I'm fine. Erhm. . .? My aspirin?" 

"Oh! Right. Where are they?" 

"In the cabinet in the girls' bathroom. Behind the box of napkins," Lily said. 

"Psh!" grunted James. "Why do girls need napkins in the bathroom?" 

Severus seemed annoyed. "Well then Potter, you just volunteered yourself to be of some service to Lily. Go ahead and be a good boy. Get the aspirin." 

"Just let Peter go or something! Don't give me orders, Snape! Unlike you, I don't kiss arses to get what I want. I use a little something called hard work!" James retorted. 

A restraining hand from Lily was barely enough to keep Severus from lunging at James. 

"A-actually," squeaked Peter. "I don't think I'd very much like to go up there. I- it's a girls' dorm after all." 

James scoffed and threw up his hands, heading up the stairs exclaiming, "A girls' dorm! What's there to be afraid of? Sodding idiots!" 

He paused just before the door, then pulled the door outwards in one quick movement. The sunlight streamed through an open window onto rows of neatly-made beds with magenta coverlets. There wasn't a stray item littering the floor and the air had a fresh scent of rainwater. 

_"Yeesh!" _thought James as he made his way to what he assumed was the bathroom. _"Why don't the house elves ever make our rooms this clean?"_ But then again, it was probably the fact that the elves were tired of cleaning every ten minutes (the time it took to mess up the dorms again). 

Pulling the large wooden door open, James half-expected a girl to be found unclothed, but alas! his hopes were dashed. Inside the bathroom was a whole different story. There was none of the pristine perfection witnessed out in the sleeping area. Toothbrushes and combs were strewn everywhere, as well as a few bottles that he could swear were (shudder!) nail polish. The mirror cabinet seemed to be a makshift clotheshanger of sorts. Bras and panties of all sizes, colors, and fabrics were draped all over it. Apalled at the assortment of undergarments and not willing to put his hands on any of them, James looked wildly until he seized a plumber and eased the cabinet open, holding the device by its squishy rubber end. 

Too late, he found that the cabinet opened, but with the mirror swinging in his direction, obstructing the contents inside from his view. Easy. He'd just reach in and feel around for a bottle of aspirin behind a pack of napkins. Bravely, James stuck his left hand in and blindly patted various objects. There it was! The aspirin bottle, but the box of napkins was in the way! If he tried to move the bottle, the napkins would fall, causing everything else around to drop, meaning: chaos. So he did the only thing he could think of. He'd take out the napkins, then the bottle, then replace the napkins and be on his way. 

By now, his right arm with the plumber was starting to ache and he obtained a firm grip on the pack of napkins. Drawing them out, he realized with horror why none of the other guys volunteered for the task. In his hand, was an extra-large pack of super-absorbent maxi pads. 

With wings. 


	7. Chapter Seven, Revised

**Kissing a Fool   
Chapter Seven(Revised)   
By Dinkee-Dino**

**Disclaimer:** All the stuff (excluding characters you don't know and the plot) belongs to the richest woman in the UK until tax time. 

Waiting downstairs, they could hear the loud yell before James came tumbling down with a thud. He looked up to find five people laughing, with Sirius having a particularly large fit, turning an interesting shade of magenta. 

"Well, at least he got the aspirin," said Remus between a burst of chuckles. 

Not thankful for the sad attempt to make things better James glared at all of them. "Ha. Ha. And you all knew about this. Thanks for warning me though. Great chums, you lot are." 

"No problem! But I don't need the aspirin anymore. Severus wanted to try out a new charm he'd worked on last summer. Thanks though." Lily smiled. 

James was near bursting. He chucked the aspirin bottle at the nearest portrait. A few other pictures looked huffed when the bottle bounced off the canvas to shatter a vase and roll under the fire grate. "Oh just send me up there. And when I come out of the chamber of horrors, tell me it wasn't really necessary for me to risk my mental stability in exchange of plastic. The whole thing was just to build character," he muttered. 

"You just had to learn how to embrace your feminine side, Potter," Snape quietly intoned. 

"What's that supposed to mean? If you want to say something to me, why don't you say it to my face!" 

Seeing that James was clearly off, Lily assured him that Snape had just been playing around. "Honestly James, it was all my fault anyway. I'm really sorry and I know it was wrong, but it was too tempting and. . ." she trailed off. 

James chose to ignore the apology, but turning to yell at his friends some more, found them staring expectantly at him. They obviously thought the watered-milk version of Lily's repentance seemed to do. He was now left with two choices. One, he could go on yelling at everyone and seem like an inconsiderate idiot. Two, he could force a smile and laugh it off. The laughing was probably asking too much, but he decided to go with the latter. 

"It's not that big of a deal anyway," James managed through clenched teeth. Lily looked genuinely relieved. What was up with that girl? Who cared if you pissed someone off? Did it really matter? Great. His heartburn was starting up again. 

The rest of the six watched as James patted his pockets and got down on his knees near the fire grate. "I think that he's trying to getting aspirin," Peter whispered in an obvious voice. Remus rolled his eyes. As if _that_ wasn't clear to everyone. 

"Ouch! Damn it!" James barked. He'd burnt his fingers on the iron pattern next to the fire, earning himself a very nice pattern to match the holiday decorations already put up around the common room. The yellow and gold tie around his neck was quickly turning gray from the soot, and the position wasn't helping his heartburn either. During a particularly boring Transfiguration lesson, he'd actually calculated that with the amount of acid reflux attacks he'd been having in the past weeks, an ulcer was bound to develop within in the next two months tops. 

James pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and laid himself flat on the ground in an effort to get into a better position. "Uhm, James I think that you can leave the bottle where it is. It looks fine, really," he heard someone say. Just a bit more. . . There was a burst of orange light and he was rolling on the floor covered in flames. 

Everyone panicked. Sirius impulsively threw half of the Oriental rug around his friend and started rolling the bundle around, something he'd seen in Muggle handbooks at the train station. It worked, with James nearly choking to death from the process. The rug was peeled back to reveal a still-smoking James with crooked glasses and scorched hair. 

The questions started from all sides. "What were you thinking?" 

"Are you hurt?" 

"Sweet mother of Merlin, you smell like badly burnt ribs! It'll take more than a bottle of barbecue sauce to get that smell out of you!" (Sirius, who else?) 

Severus was just off to one side, smirking. James saw him and had a fleeting thought of Snape somehow planning this, but it disappeared when he opened his mouth. 

"Potter is fine. The fires here are student-proof, rather, they're fire-proof. You can stick your hand right into the flames, " he demonstrated, "and absolutely nothing happens. Of course, since the fires are only charmed to protect flesh, your hair is. . . hopeless." James could swear he said that last bit with glee. It wouldn't have been so bad to take if Snape hadn't always been right. 

Sirius and Remus heaved James to his feet while Lily rushed over. "Are you alright? You look a bit red." 

"I'm fine really, thanks," murmured James, still a little dazed. 

"You know, we could take you down to the hospital wing. But if you're not up to it we coul-" 

James was getting impatient. "I'm _fine_ dammit! Geez! What's with this Florence Nightingale complex every girl has? You know, fawning over guys isn't going to get you any dates." 

Lily drew back. "Oh. I'm sorry to be such a bother," but she said it with no bitterness. "Uhm. I think I'll go down to the Dining Hall now. I'll see you guys, I guess." She opened the portrait-door and quietly walked out. 

"Good job, James," said Peter. And when Peter, who was usually too oblivious to notice anything, started to criticize, it was the cue to recognize that you'd done something terribly wrong. 

But James, fed up with the stupid attention, the stupid criticism, the whole stupid fiery aspirin, just scowled. "I'm not hungry. And stop staring at me like that! Fine!" he said, thumping up the stairway to his room. 

**-**

Once outside the common room, Lily had walked down the staircase pensively. James had been very wrong to say those things to her. But what if he was right? What if she didn't have what it took to attract guys? There was proof enough with Grayer. After asking her to be his dancing partner that one time in class, he'd basically disappeared, and she heard no more from him. Maybe she'd done something wrong, perhaps, without realizing it, and Grayer was just too much of the gentleman to mention it? Thinking about his thoughtfulness made Lily smile. 

But it was now or never. There were loads of girls flocking around Grayer all the time, not to mention that one Nicole. And he was obviously interested in _her_, along with the rest of the raging hormones in the male student body. Yet Lily had made up her mind. She was going to win Grayer over because, of course, he knew that she was the warm, caring girl for him, even though he was being led astray by those other beauties. There was a lot more than looks, and she felt that she could love Grayer just the same if he weren't half so handsome. She knew she needed help, and lots of it, but the high of her resolve shut out any room in her brain for intimidation or common sense. 

Reaching her destination, she flung open the door in triumph (for it had been a long time since she had made such a huge decision for herself), and strode in confidently. 

James was half asleep in a chair when Lily opened his door with a bang. Lily, so sure of herself just a few seconds ago, now felt uncertain. Seeing James start to sit up, and wanting to tell him before she lost her nerve, the words tumbled out of her mouth. 

"I want you to teach me how to make love." 


	8. Chapter Eight

**Kissing a Fool   
Chapter Eight   
By Dinkee-Dino**

**Disclaimer:** All the stuff (excluding characters you don't know and the plot) belongs to the richest woman in the UK until tax time. 

**A/N:** So those who have actually stuck to it this far should be congratulated. And those from way way before might have noticed that a huge chunk has been taken out. Don't feel sad folks. . . At least this is an all-new bonus chapter! 

The moment she said it, Lily knew it had been a mistake. "I want you to teach me how to make love." What kind of an idiot must James think her to be? 

James was silent. Lily took the opportunity to go on, for she knew that if he opened his mouth to say anything. Anything at all, she would become discouraged. 

"Well, I know that you probably are busy. What with Quidditch and all, but I've never come to you for anything, and this is something I really need." She cringed upon hearing herself. He'd say no. And why not? Why would James Potter want to spend tireless evenings with one so clearly inexperienced at lovemaking as her? But she'd make best of the situation as she could. "I. . I know that naturally you'd want some sort of. . .of compensation. . ." at this, her fear was starting to get the best of her. The door was still right behind her. A few steps and she could be free. . . 

James was starting to become quite indignant. "What do you take me for Evans? If you think you can pay me for a night, you are certainly mistaken. Though I may have my" 

"Oh lord! I'm not going to _pay_ you!" 

"Whyever not?" asked James, a bit put out. "But that's beside the point. I do, however, feel an obligation as a gentleman to inform you that this is a mistake. Any guy who loves you for who you are will not care how inexperienced you are in erhm. . .bed. So no. I will not help you." 

Lily covered her face with her hands. "No, no, no!" She straightened. "Look. It's just for a little while." 

It wasn't everyday that James had girls throwing themselves at him. Well, not this way, at least. There were those who begged him to make love to them. But teach? No. This was a new one. And normally, he would've pounced on her in a second, but Evans was a magnet for trouble. In fact, he was actually feeling very good about his gallant refusal to take advantage of her. 

"Evans, if you're really set on this, do it. Just ask someone else. Remus. Grayer, perhaps. But it shouldn't matter to your erhm . . .lover. And if he's trying to force or pressure yo-" 

Letting out a scream, Lily ran across the room, flung herself upon his bed, and promptly began chucking pillows at him. "That's just _it_, don't you see? I don't have a boyfriend or lover or anything!" Calming herself, she hugged the last pillow to her chest. "Maybe I wasn't quite so articulate. The thing is, I want to learn how to make someone fall in love me. Not just a wham-bam-thank you, ma'm. Something lasting. And you're obviously very experienced. I mean, you've had more partners than. . . Well, you get what I mean." 

"Meaning?" 

"Well, you know what makes a girl attractive. I need to learn how to dress, act, talk. The works. Please?" 

"So we wouldn't cover shagging?" 

"Of course we would!" Lily was getting red. "Well, I mean. You don't have to actually. .. you know. But. . Oh! We'll burn that bridge when we cross it." 

James was thoughtful. And though she'd never admit it to anyone, much less herself, Lily thought his new black hair was rather. . . ravishing. Black hair and blue eyes was, well, attractive. 

"No." 

"What?" 

James sighed. "Honestly. The Head Girl position is supposed to go to the brightest our year. No. I won't do it. Now I suggest you get down to the Dining Hall and get some food." He stood and went to open the door for her. 

No? Just like that? No explanation? James looked at her expectantly. If he wasn't going to listen to her, she might as well say it in a language he could understand. 

Lily took off her jumper and draped it over her arm while loosening her tie. "Gosh, it's awfully stuffy in your room." 

"What're you getting at Evans? Hurry up, I've got the door for you," as he watched her approach with suspicion. 

"An old-fashioned gentleman," she said, her voice low, and James felt a stirring of alarm. "I could use one of those." 

"I'm not." James loosened his hold on the door, and it swung shut. He shook his head violently. "A genuine cad, that's me. A wanker." 

She stepped closer and he tripped over himself, stumbling backwards. 

"I need a favor," she whispered up at him as she backed him into the wall. Her low, husky voice would have set up a nice hum in his blood if she hadn't been so stiff as she pressed against him. That and the fact that she was Evans. 

_If you want to seduce me, you have to melt a little_, he thought. But he figured that if he pushed her away now, there would be a huge row. Better let her finish and leave. 

"I'm not very good at this kind of thing," she whispered, putting her palms on his chest, her hands trembling a little. 

_No kidding._ He's met angry boyfriends that were more yielding. 

"While you clearly are-" she clutched his school shirt "-more than skilled at this." 

This was getting embarrassing for both of them. "Okay, you really aren't any good at this, " James said, keeping his voice low. "What do you want from me?" 

He heard Lily sigh. "What I asked you for earlier. Just a little help between friends. Well, okay, acquaintances is more like it. Besides, you owe me for that time with my iced knickers." 

"You shouldn't bring that up. It's poor salesmanship. And what about my hair? Do you realize that I won't be able to dye it for another three months!" 

"Oh God! Is this what it's about? You won't help because of your stupid hair? You know what?" Lily cried. "Forget it. And I can get the door myself, thank you!" she exclaimed, pushing past him. 

**-**

When James got to the Dining Hall, he found it packed. Sirius momentarily looked up and waved him over. James stood a little awkwardly behind the benches until Sirius unceremoniously shoved a second-year off to make room. 

"Are you sure he's going to be fine?" he asked, sitting down. Much to his joy, raspberry cremes were plentiful. Probably because that infuriating Evans wasn't there to hide them all. 

Sirius shoved a forkful of meat pie into his mouth. "Hm? Oh yeah. Kids. You know, theyr'e like rubber. Bounce back everytime." 

"By the way, have you seen old Moony anywhere? It's two days to, you know," James said in an undertone. 

Sirius didn't get the hint and kept on talking loud as ever. "I dunno. Gimme that hamsteak! Seventh-years get rights!" he admonished someone. "I think he's been trying to avoid Lily. You know, doesn't like her feeding him and such." Then once again, his gaze was locked on his food. 

"Or he could be with Lily!" Peter squeaked. But no one heard him as the second-year, though he was smart enough to leave James Potter alone, contented himself with pushing Peter off the benches in turn. 

Grabbing another creme, James slipped out unnoticed and continued his way down the hall. Thankfully, almost no one was around as McGonagall had assigned as whopping four foot essay on the fundamentals of Inorganic to Organic transfiguration. 

Somewhere between the fourth and sixth floor, he heard some very loud music playing. James hastened up the staircases with glee. As it was after six in the evening, it was against school rules for music to be played at "a level which might, in anyway, disturb or distract others." He sincerely hoped it was some Slytherins. That way, he could take house points off, taking them out of their marginal lead that resulted from their win against Hufflepuff's Quidditch team. 

The music got louder as he neared the end of the Muggle Studies corridor. A door was ajar and James could tell that someone was inside. He recognized Remus' voice and was about to walk in when he saw his friend with Lily in a rather sensuous embrace. 

Lily pulled herself back up to say, "No. Look Remus, we cross step then go into kicks before the dip. Try it again? Where we left off." 

"Well, the thing is, I'm still not so sure on the order of the step-kicks. I'm really sorry about this, but I just can't seem to remember," he replied, looking apologetic. 

"Oh it's not problem," Lily laughed. "Uhm we could take it slower maybe?" 

"Or I could just show you," Robert's voice caused James to jump back from his spy hole near the door. What was he doing in there? By the time James had returned to the door, Lily and Robert were already starting. He watched in awe as the couple's legs criss-crossed all over the floor. 

Lily was spun and then abruptly lowered into a hold where Robert had a grip on only her right arm, then pulled quickly up. She had her forehead against his chest, and he moved his arms down her body to her waist. His right hand stayed on her waist, but his left arm drifted down to lift her right leg, pushing it up to his waist. Lily had closed her eyes and leant back as Robert's head moved down from her neck, stopping at her breast-bone. 

They stopped, and James assumed they were done when the soft cello turned into a sharp violin. Lily fought to get away and Robert seemed to be holding her back from what she wanted to do. They criss-crossed the floor and the tension mounted until Lily became limp in Robert's dip at the closing measure. Even an untrained person like James could tell that their dances was depicting a relationship. Flirtation. Passion. Jealously. And of course Death. This last part made him shiver. 

James was watching with all the guilt that a spy has, coming across two lovers, and he only realized that he had been holding his breath when Robert and Lily broke away. 

"Well, I've got to be going," said Robert, as if nothing extraordinary had just happened. "Papers to grade. Have a nice weekend. See you in class on Monday." 

"You know what?" Remus stopped him. "I've got to get going too. I'll leave with you." 

James backed away from the door and flattened looked desperately for somewhere to hide, but thankfully Robert and Remus exited through a staircase behind the fireplace. He had just gone back with the intention of checking whether or not Lily was there, when she opened the door all the way and he nearly fell on top of her. Immediately she looked suspicious. 

"Potter? Were you watching me?" 

He tried to look as innocent as possible, but his widened eyes had no effect. "What? Me? Of course not!" 

"Right. Then how do you explain your being outside this door?" 

James desperately ran through all the excuses. "Erhm. I was just trying to find you." He was just stalling for time. What to say? What to say? Right. First rule of talking to a girl. Tell them something they want to hear. 

"Really. . . . " 

"I ehrm, I came to apologize for earlier today. I mean, I had no right to ehrm brush you off like that." 

Lily was starting to become interested. "Hmm. Go on." 

What more did this girl want from him? That was a perfectly good apology! "Well, and erhm. You know, I forgive you for ruining my hair. It's not that big of a deal anyway. No hard feelings?" He could tell by the way Lily's eyes flickered that he had said the wrong thing. 

"Really? That's wonderful!" she exclaimed sarcastically. "Because Hogwarts just wouldn't know what to do if the great James Potter suddenly lost his amazingly ravishing good looks." 

He sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly, just wishing, for once, they didn't have to bicker all the time. "Look, if this is about earlier, I've already said no, and that's final." 

What happened next was wholly unexpected. No, not just unexpected, but uncalled for. Not even Snape would think of doing something so low. This next thing, James knew was unforgivable and dirty fighting. 

"What are you, Potter? Chicken?" 

**A/N:**Total cliche of an ending, but bear with me. . . It gets WAY better, I promise. There's dancing in the next chapter! 


End file.
